rebellion

  • The betrayal of Chen Gong [Three Kingdoms]

    Chen Gong played a crucial role in Cao Cao’s early rise to power. When Liu Dai, the Inspector of Yan Province(Yanzhou), was killed in battle against the Yellow Turban rebels in 192 AD, a power vacuum emerged. Chen Gong, a native scholar-official of Yan Province and a man of high moral standing, took decisive…

  • How Cao Cao seized Yanzhou: The calculated rise of a Warlord [Three Kingdoms]

    In 192 AD, after Li Jue and Guo Si seized Chang’an, murdered Wang Yun, and captured Emperor Xian, they established control over the Sili region and eastern Liang Province(Liangzhou), effectively holding the Han central government hostage for the next four years. Though they nominally ruled in the emperor’s name, real power in the empire…

  • The cost of indecision: Wang Yun’s failure to pardon the Liangzhou Army [Three Kingdoms]

    In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wang Yun refused to pardon Li Jue and others out of deep hatred for their role in aiding Dong Zhuo’s tyranny. However, historical records reveal a more nuanced stance: Wang Yun was not opposed to amnesty for the Liangzhou troops but hesitated to grant it outright due…

  • Sequel to a Dream

    After winning the title of jinshi, (Tran. Note: Jinshi was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination; juren was a successful candidate at the provincial level) Juren Zeng and several others who had passed the examination went for an excursion in the suburbs of the provincial capital.

  • The Fox of Wei County

    The Li Family in Wei County, Shandong Province, owned a villa. One day, an old man suddenly came along and said he was willing to pay fifty taels of silver a year to rent the house. The owner agreed.

  • Sharp Knife

    During the last years of the Ming Dynasty, there were many bandits in the territory of Jinan, Shandong Province. Troops in the various counties were reinforced and they killed all they arrested.

  • Behind Yingning’s laughter

    The story “Yingning” from Strange Tales from Liaozhai is a classic short story written by Pu Songling, a writer from the Qing Dynasty. This tale centers around the romantic relationship between the protagonist, Scholar Wang, and Yingning, and is filled with elements of fantasy and profound social commentary.

  • Corpse heap survival in “Wild Dogs”

    The story “Wild Dogs” from Strange Tales from Liaozhai is set against the backdrop of a rebellion led by Yu Qi in Qixia County, Shandong Province.

  • Ivory chopsticks

    When King Zhou ordered chopsticks made of ivory, Ji Zi was most perturbed. He reasoned: “Ivory chopsticks demand rhino horn cups; rhino cups demand exotic delicacies; delicacies demand silk robes and palace halls. This insatiable chain will end in tyranny and ruin.”