SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

political persecution

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 3.2

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    Juan

    Therefore, even if standards and measures are upright, they may not be followed; even if principles and reasoning are complete, they may not be adopted. If Your Majesty distrusts advisors for this reason, minor criticism will be seen as slander, while serious advice may bring disaster, ruin and even death upon oneself.

  • Cai Yong

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    Juan

    Cai Yong (133–192 CE) was a renowned literary scholar, calligrapher, and musician of the Eastern Han dynasty, and the father of the famous poet and composer Cai Wenji. His courtesy name was Bojie, and he was a native of Yu in Chenliu Commandery (modern-day Qixian, Henan).

  • The Partisan Prohibitions: the Fall of the Han Scholar-Gentry [Eastern Han]

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    Juan

    Brief: This article explores Eastern Han’s Partisan Prohibitions. Eunuchs branded scholar‑gentry like Li Ying and Chen Fan as “partisans,” triggering two brutal purges. Many were killed, exiled, or banned for life. The crackdown destroyed honest officials, fatally weakening the Han and paving the way for its collapse.

  • The Analects – Chapter 171 (7.23). Confucius’ defiance of political power

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    Juan

    7.23 The Master said,”Heaven begat the power (virtue) that is in me. What have I to fear from such a one as Huan Tui?”