SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Cao Bin

  • The Tragic Fall of General Yang Ye [Song & Yuan]

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    Juan

    This article tells the tragic story of General Yang Ye, a loyal and brave defender of the Song Dynasty. It reviews the failed Northern Expeditions against the Liao, highlights Yang Ye’s brilliant victory at Yanmen Gate that earned him the title “Invincible.” In the 986 campaign, slandered by jealous supervisors and abandoned by his…

  • The Anxiety of the Adjacent Bed: Zhao Kuangyin’s Campaign for Unification [Song & Yuan]

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    Juan

    This article recounts Emperor Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin)’s unification wars of the early Song Dynasty. After centralizing power, he adopted the “First South, Then North” strategy proposed by Zhao Pu. Song forces successively conquered Jingnan, Hunan, Later Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang, defeating rulers like Meng Chang and Li Yu. The campaign laid the…