Category: Chinese Men

  • The Memorial of a Fearless Confucian Scholar

    In 78 BC, there were several weird things in the Western Han Dynasty. People heard a great sound from the south of the Tai Mountain (泰山). They found that, a big stone stood up by itself, and thousands of white crows gathered round. In the Changyi (昌邑) State, a withered tree revived. In the Shanglin…

  • “A White Horse is not A Horse” – the Sophistry of Gongsun Long

    In the Warring-States Period (from 475 BC to 221 BC), the society of China was in flourishing pluralism. There were many famous schools of thought. The school of Gongsun Long (公孫龍) was one of them. Gongsun Long lived in the Zhao (趙) State where was in modern-day Shanxi and Hebei. He was known for his…

  • Yu Rang, the First Famous Assassin of the Warring-States Period

    Yu Rang was the most famous assassin in the early days of the Warring-States Period. He lived in Jin State. He once was the family-minister of Fan Jishe and Zhonghang Yin who were two of six influential ministers of Jin State. But Fan Jishe and Zhonghang Yin didn’t appreciate him, so he left the two…

  • When Zilu Met Confucius

    Zilu was a famous warrior in the Spring-Autumn Period. He lived in the Lu (鲁) State. At that time, Confucius tried his best to propagate his thoughts about restoring the systems and rites of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the capital of Lu State. Confucius was born in a family of a brave warrior, but…

  • When Confucius Received A Present

    Confucius had a poor neighbor. One day, the poor man cooked food by an earthenware. He tasted the food, and thought it was very delicious. He thought he should let his wise neighbor taste so delicious food. So the poor man put much of the food into an earthen bowl, and presented it to Confucius.…

  • When Acquaintances Met in A Battlefield

    A war is cruel anytime. What will a person do when he recognizes his antagonist is the person who has been close with him in the past? There is a dilemma. In 559 BC, Wei Xian-Gong, a monarch of Wei State, was expelled because he treated his ministers irreverently. Sun Linfu, an influential minister who…

  • Two Monarchs Facing Death

    Zhu Wen-Gong was the monarch of Zhu State in the Spring-Autumn Period. In 614 BC, he planed to move the capital to the city Yi, and he let a historiographer divine the future. The historiographer got a divinatory sign from an oracle tortoise plastron, and he told the monarch, “The move of the capital will…

  • Tian Heng and Five Hundred Warriors

    In 209 BC, Chen Sheng (陈胜) and Wu Guang (吴广), two men who were born in former Chu (楚) State, led many people to rebel against the Qin Empire. Their actions were supported immediately by the people of six former states (Chu 楚, Qi 齐, Yan 燕, Zhao 赵, Wei 魏 and Han 韩) ,…

  • The Virtues of Incorruption

    Zihan was a minister of Song State in the Spring-Autumn Period. He administered state construction projects. This official position was called Sicheng in Song State, and was called Sikong in other states. One day, a person visited Zihan with a jade stone. This person said, “This is a treasure. I present it to you.” Zihan…

  • The Sword of Yanling Jizi

    Gongzi Zha was the youngest son of Shoumeng, the king of Wu State which was in modern-days Jiangsu Province. He was an erudite and judicious man, so his father wanted to give him the throne, but Gongzi Zha refused. He abandoned the comfortable life and made a living on the land. His father had no…