SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

  • The rescue of Kong Rong by Liu Bei [Three Kingdoms]

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    Juan

    In 193 AD, though the main wave of the Yellow Turban Rebellion had been suppressed, scattered remnants continued to wreak havoc across the Han Empire. Kong Rong, serving as the Chancellor of Beihai Commandery (in modern-day Shandong), found himself at the center of a dire crisis.

  • Why Zhang Miao turned against Cao Cao? [Three Kingdoms]

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    Rob

    In a previous article, we discussed why Chen Gong betrayed Cao Cao. Today, let’s explore why Zhang Miao was also persuaded to join the rebellion and betray Cao Cao.

  • The betrayal of Chen Gong [Three Kingdoms]

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    Rob

    Chen Gong played a crucial role in Cao Cao’s early rise to power. When Liu Dai, the Inspector of Yan Province(Yanzhou), was killed in battle against the Yellow Turban rebels in 192 AD, a power vacuum emerged. Chen Gong, a native scholar-official of Yan Province and a man of high moral standing, took decisive…

  • The master of calculated cunning – Jia Xu [Three Kingdoms]

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    Rob

    In the treacherous world of the Three Kingdoms, where brilliant minds often met tragic ends, Jia Xu stands as a singular anomaly—a strategist famed not for grand visions of empire, but for ruthless pragmatism and cold calculation, yet he emerged as one of the very few who lived to a ripe old age and…

  • The collapse of Gongsun Zan [Three Kingdoms]

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    Rob

    While Yuan Shu expanded his power in the south, Gongsun Zan, to the north, was spiraling into disaster. After the brutal execution of Liu Yu in 193 AD, Gongsun Zan believed he had finally secured complete control over You Province(Youzhou), free from any rival authority. Yet he fatally underestimated one crucial force: the will…

  • Liu Yu vs. the two Gongsuns [Three Kingdoms]

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    Rob

    In the tumultuous era depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Yu, the governor of You Province(Youzhou), found himself squeezed between two formidable warlords—Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Du. While Liu Yu was a man of virtue, his tenure as governor was marred by the relentless encroachments of these two ambitious men.