Basic Information Chinese Idiom: 价值连城Pinyin: jià zhí lián chéngLiteral Meaning: Worth a cluster of connected cities, worth several cities.Figurative Meaning: Extremely precious and invaluable Cultural Background Derived from the tale of the He Shi Bi jade, a legendary ancient treasure. The idiom is used to praise rare treasures, precious artworks or invaluable talents. In…
Fan Ju (? – 255 BCE) was a prominent Chancellor of the State of Qin during the Warring States period. His courtesy name was Shu, and he was a native of Ruicheng in the State of Wei (modern-day Ruicheng County, Shanxi).
This article recounts the famous Warring States story of Mao Sui, a retainer who “recommended himself” to join Lord Pingyuan’s diplomatic mission to Chu. Faced with Qin’s siege of Handan, Lord Pingyuan struggled to find twenty capable men, mocking Mao Sui’s three years of obscurity. Mao Sui retorted that a needle thrusts through a…
This article recounts the Battle of Changping, a decisive and bloody conflict during the Warring States period. It details how King Xiaocheng of Zhao replaced the defensive general Lian Po with the inexperienced theorist Zhao Kuo, following a successful deception campaign by Qin’s Fan Ju. The narrative describes the catastrophic trap set by Qin’s…
This article chronicles the heroic diplomacy of Lin Xiangru during the Warring States period. It details two pivotal events: the “Returning the Jade Intact to Zhao”, where Lin retrieved the legendary He Shi Bi from the treacherous Qin court, and the Meeting at Mianchi, where he used a clay pot to force the King…