Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
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Chaos in the Imperial Court After founding the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang) faced a new kind of disorder – not from enemies, but from his own comrades. His earliest followers from Pei and Feng counties were rough soldiers, not courtiers. At banquets in the palace, they boasted of wartime exploits, argued loudly,…
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The Disarmament of a Hero After Xiang Yu’s death at the Wu River in 202 BCE, Liu Bang moved swiftly – not to celebrate, but to consolidate power. His first target was Han Xin, the brilliant general who had delivered victory at Gaixia. Liu Bang rode directly into Han Xin’s camp in Qi and…
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The Eastern Campaign and the Fall of Pengcheng In the spring of 205 BCE, Xiang Yu (the “Hegemon-King”) led his main army east to crush Tian Rong, King of Qi. After repeated defeats, Tian Rong fled to Pingyuan, where he brutally extorted grain from locals. Enraged, the people rose up and killed him.
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Huang Quan (courtesy name Gongheng), born in Langzhong, Baxi Commandery (modern-day Langzhong, Sichuan), stands out in the turbulent Three Kingdoms era as a rare figure whose reputation grew with every change of master. Though he served three regimes – Liu Zhang, Liu Bei, and Cao Wei – he was never branded a turncoat. Instead,…