Qin Dynasty

  • The Peach Blossom Spring

    — by Tao Yuanming (Jin) During the Taiyuan era of the Jin Dynasty, a fisherman from Wuling made his living by fishing. One day, he sailed along a stream, forgetting how far he had traveled. Suddenly, he came upon a grove of peach trees lining both banks for several hundred paces. There were no…

  • Han Fei

    Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE), often revered as Han Feizi or Master Han Fei, stands as one of ancient China’s most influential philosophers and political theorists. Emerging during the tumultuous Warring States Period (475–221 BCE), he hailed from Xinzheng, the capital of the state of Han (in modern-day Henan Province). As a royal descendant…

  • From Stone Monkey to Handsome Monkey King

    Born from a mystical stone, Sun Wukong gains power through sheer ambition. After discovering the Water Curtain Cave, he declares himself the Handsome Monkey King, rallying the monkey tribe under his rule.

  • [Journey to the West] Wukong and Zhang Liang

    In ‌Chapter 14 of Journey to the West‌, Sun Wukong kills six bandits (symbolizing the ‌”Six Roots”‌ of desire in Buddhist teachings) and is harshly rebuked by Tang Sanzang. Angered, he storms off and visits the ‌Dragon King of the Eastern Sea‌.