SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Ban Biao

  • Throwing Down the Brush for the Sword: Ban Chao [Eastern Han]

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    Juan

    A Scholar’s Son, a Warrior’s Heart After leaving the warlord Wei Xiao, historian Ban Biao joined Dou Rong in Hexi. Later summoned by Emperor Guangwu, he began compiling the Sequel to Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji Houzhuan) – but died before completing it. He left behind two gifted sons: Ban Gu, the elder,…

  • The Dream That Brought Buddhism to China [Eastern Han]

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    Juan

    A Mysterious Dream in the Imperial Palace In the seventh year of his reign (64 CE), Emperor Ming of Han was plunged into grief: his beloved mother, Empress Dowager Yin Lihua, had passed away. Deeply affected, he struggled with insomnia and sorrow. One night, he dreamed of a golden figure with a luminous halo…

  • Long and Shu: Emperor Guangwu’s Final Campaigns to Reunify China [Eastern Han]

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    Juan

    The Ambitious Warlord of Longyou Wei Xiao, a respected scholar from Chengji (northwest of modern Qin’an, Gansu), rose to prominence during the anti-Wang Mang uprisings. Appointed by local elites, he seized control of Tianshui and built a powerful regional base. Though he briefly submitted to Liu Xuan (the Gengshi Emperor), he later joined the…