justice

  • Unbending Justice and the Virtues of Restraint: The Legacy of Emperor Guangwu [Eastern Han]

    Laying Down the Sword, Embracing Peace In the year the victorious armies returned from Shu, Emperor Guangwu was forty-three. He had risen in rebellion at twenty-eight, and for fifteen years had lived almost entirely amid war camps and battlefields. Now, with the empire unified, he was determined to let the land rest and recover.…

  • Ma Liang and His Magic Brush

    Once upon a time, there was a poor boy named Ma Liang who was naturally clever and loved drawing from a young age. Due to his family’s poverty, he couldn’t afford a brush; instead, he drew with tree branches on hillsides, grass roots dipped in river water by the banks, and pieces of charcoal…

  • Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: A Gateway to China’s Fantastical Folklore

    In the vast landscape of Chinese literature, few works blend fantasy, romance, social critique, and folklore as masterfully as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi). Written by Pu Songling (1640–1715), a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, this collection of over 490 short stories has enchanted readers for centuries with its vivid depictions…

  • Two minor characters: Guo Chang and His Son [Three Kingdoms]

    Though appearing only once in Chapter 28 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the brief episode involving Guo Chang and his wayward son serves far more than a passing narrative function. This seemingly minor interlude not only deepens Guan Yu’s characterization as a paragon of righteousness and mercy, but also offers a microcosm of…

  • The Tiger’s Redemption

    “The Tiger of Zhao Cheng (The Repentant Tiger)” is a story from Strange Tales from Liaozhai (Liaozhai Zhiyi), recounting a tale of filial piety, vengeance, and forgiveness. Set in Zhao Cheng, the story revolves around an elderly woman and her son.

  • The wicked servant in “Tian Qilang”

    In Strange Tales from Liaozhai – Tian Qilang, Lin Er’s series of actions—from overstepping boundaries due to his special status to completely trampling on ethics and loyalty—form a complete portrait of a “wicked servant.” These actions not only escalate the conflicts in the story but also expose, in an extreme way, the dark side…

  • Li Boyan, the temporary Yama

    A scholar named Li Boyan, from Xishui, Shandong, was a straightforward, upright and brave man. Suddenly he collapsed with some kind of acute illness.

  • Justice and Transformation in “Judge Lu”

    Strange Tales from Liaozhai, a collection of classical tales by Qing writer Pu Songling, features fantastical stories about fox spirits, ghosts, etc. Today, we will talk one of the most popular stories, the Judge Lu.

  • Candidate for the City God

    My brother-in-law’s grandfather Master Song Tao, a local recipient of a government stipend for bachelors of letters, was lying sick in bed one day when an officer bearing a summons and leading a white-blazed horse came to him and said, ”You are requested to be present at the examination.”