SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

factionalism

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 33.5

    •

    This Legalist excerpt from Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 33.5 warns against ministers’ extreme virtues and ruler’s unrestrained favors. It condemns factional cliques, urging rulers to manage officials via statecraft instead of personal moral judgment.

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 9.4

    •

    Han Feizi advocates merit-based appointments. Favoritism and selling offices breed corruption, demoralize talent, and ruin states.

  • The Analects – Chapter 15.22

    •

    The Master said, “The noble person is dignified but not contentious; he associates with others but does not form cliques.”

  • Yuan Shao’s failure in selecting his heir [Three Kingdoms]

    •

    Among the many factors that doomed Yuan Shao after his defeat at the Battle of Guandu (200 CE), none proved more destructive than his attempt to replace his eldest son, Yuan Tan, with his younger favorite, Yuan Shang, as heir.

  • Could Dong Zhuo prevent the rise of warlords? A historical analysis [Three Kingdoms]

    •

    The early stages of the Three Kingdoms period were marked by intense political upheaval and military conflict, largely triggered by the actions – or misdeeds – of Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord who rose to prominence after suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Possessing the largest army and commanding numerous renowned generals, Dong Zhuo held…

  • Was Lü Bu the greatest warrior? [Three Kingdoms]

    •

    When discussing the military hierarchy of Dong Zhuo’s regime, it is essential to look beyond the romanticized narrative of Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms and consult the more sober accounts of historical records such as Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms and Fan Ye’s Book of the Later Han.

  • Reasons for Lü Bu’s Downfall [Three Kingdoms]

    •

    Lü Bu is a much-discussed figure from the late Han and Three Kingdoms period. Renowned for his martial prowess but criticized for his fickleness and lack of loyalty, he first betrayed and killed Ding Yuan, and later did the same to Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu ultimately met his end at the hands of Cao…

  • The rise and fall of Wang Yun [Three Kingdoms]

    •

    After three long years of terror under Dong Zhuo’s tyrannical rule, the Han Dynasty finally breathed free. In 192 AD, Wang Yun, the loyal minister, and Lü Bu, the mighty warrior, succeeded in their daring plot to assassinate the warlord Dong Zhuo.

  • Why did Wu Kuang kill He Miao? [Three Kingdoms]

    •

    In the third chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after He Jin was assassinated, generals such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Wu Kuang led soldiers into the palace, killing all eunuchs regardless of their ranks. He Jin’s subordinate, Wu Kuang, even killed He Jin’s younger brother He Miao, the General…