Basic Information Chinese Idiom: 祸起萧墙Pinyin: huò qǐ xiāo qiángLiteral Meaning: Disaster arises from the xiao‑qiang screen‑wall. Figurative definition Calamity, conflict or rebellion originates from inside a group, organization or nation, rather than from outside enemies. Cultural & historical background This idiom comes from a famous passage in the Analects (in the chapter Jishi). The…
Han Feizi uses the two-mouthed hui worm fable: its two mouths fight over food, bite each other and die together. The tale warns power-hungry ministers’ vicious infighting will ruin their shared kingdom just like the worm.
Basic Information Chinese Idiom: 煮豆燃萁 Pinyin: zhǔ dòu rán qí Literal Meaning: Boil beans with bean stalks as fuel. Figurative Meaning: Brothers or close kin attack and harm one another. Cultural Background This idiom comes from a well-known story of the Cao brothers during the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Pi (曹丕), the new emperor,…
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.
The Coalition Against Dong Zhuo in 190 AD is one of the most dramatic yet ultimately tragic episodes in the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty.
Originally, Li Jue and Guo Si shared a close bond. They were both native to Liang Province and had served under Dong Zhuo for many years. When defeated Lü Bu using the guerrilla tactics of Peng Yue, and captured Chang’an, they seized control of the Han court. Li Jue often hosted grand banquets for…
After Dong Zhuo was assassinated by Wang Yun and Lü Bu, his former generals—Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou—stationed in Shan County east of Chang’an, were on the verge of collapse. It was Jia Xu who advised them to unite and strike back, warning that surrender would mean certain death.
In the second and third chapters of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, He Jin, as the Grand General and Imperial Uncle, held the initiative to exterminate the eunuchs but consistently hesitated and vacillated. Ultimately, he was killed by eunuchs but what’s worse, by summoning external troops to the capital, he ignited the chaos in…