Juan

  • Breaking Pots and Sinking Boats: Xiang Yu’s Gamble at Julu [Western Han]

    Brief: This article narrates Xiang Yu’s legendary battle at Julu. Frustrated by Song Yi’s inaction, he seized command, led his troops across the Zhang River, smashed pots and sank boats to show no retreat. His army won nine straight battles, crushed the Qin main force, and became the supreme leader of the rebel alliance.

  • The Rising Tide: How rebellions united and fractured? [Western Han]

    Introduction: This article traces the anti‑Qin uprising after Chen Sheng. Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu rallied the “Eight Thousand Sons of Wu.” Liu Bang emerged as a rebel leader, joined by Zhang Liang. They restored King Huai II of Chu to unify forces. Though Xiang Liang fell, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang rose to…

  • How Powerful Is Sun Wukong?

    Many readers of Journey to the West have wondered just how strong Sun Wukong truly is. Known as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong possesses a body forged like black iron, fiery golden eyes that see through illusions, immortality, the 72 Transformations, and a somersault cloud that carries him 108,000 li (approximately 54,000…

  • Ode on the Red Cliff (Former)

    By Su Shi (Song Dynasty) In the autumn of the Renxu year, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, I sailed with my guests beneath the Red Cliff. A gentle breeze blew softly; the river lay calm without a ripple. Raising my cup to toast my companions, I recited poems of the bright…

  • Memorial of Filial Entreaty

    by Li Mi (Western Jin Dynasty) Your servant Li Mi speaks: I have suffered misfortune since birth and was early visited by sorrow. My father died when I was just six months old; at age four, my uncle forced my mother to remarry against her will. My grandmother Lady Liu, pitying my orphaned and…

  • The War Chariots

    by Du Fu (Tang Dynasty) Carts rumble, horses neigh –Soldiers march with bows and arrows at their waists.Fathers, mothers, wives, and children run to see them off;Dust swirls so thick the Xianyang Bridge disappears from sight.They clutch garments, stamp feet, block the road, and wail –Their cries pierce straight through to the clouds.

  • The Spark That Lit the Empire Ablaze [Western Han]

    Brief: This article records the Dazexiang Uprising, China’s first peasant rebellion. Trapped by rain and facing death for tardiness, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang led 900 conscripts to revolt against Qin’s tyranny. Though their regime fell quickly, they ignited a nationwide flame that paved the way for Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to topple…

  • The Hard Road to Shu

    by Li Bai (Tang Dynasty) Ah! Alas! How perilous, how towering!The road to Shu is harder than scaling the blue sky! 

  • Invitation to Wine

     – by Li Bai (Tang Dynasty) Don’t you see?The Yellow River’s waters come from the sky,Rushing to the sea – never to return.