SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Baojia system

  • The Xining Reforms: Wang Anshi [Song & Yuan]

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    Juan

    This post recounts the background and course of Wang Anshi’s Xining Reforms during the Northern Song Dynasty. It begins with young Prince Zhao Xu’s admiration for Wang Anshi’s reform ideas amid the Song’s crises in finance, military, and governance. It depicts the sharp ideological conflict between Wang Anshi and his former friend Sima Guang.…

  • The iron reformer: Shang Yang [Warring States]

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    Rob

    This article chronicles the rise of Wei Yang (Shang Yang), the “Iron Reformer” of the Qin state during the Warring States period. It details his recruitment by Duke Xiao of Qin, who sought to transform his backward, humiliated state into a superpower. The narrative highlights Wei Yang’s legendary “Log at the South Gate” test…