war

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 49

    This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 49 (Five Vermin) argues governance must adapt to changing eras. It denounces five harmful social groups sapping state strength, advocating strict law‑reward‑punishment and prioritizing farming‑warfare over empty moral rhetoric.

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 46

    This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 46 condemns reversed social values in governance. It warns private morality and factions erode royal power, advising rulers to prioritize impartial state law rather than unregulated personal reputations for political stability.

  • Mencius – Chapter 12.4

    Mencius meets Song Keng, who plans to end Qin-Chu war by arguing profit. Mencius objects: profit-driven relations ruin social ethics. He urges persuading kings with benevolence and righteousness to build stable, virtuous governance instead.

  • Charm of a Maiden Singer – Jinggang Mountain [Mao’s Poems]

    –Mao Zedong, May 1965 Tall trees pierce the sky, for miles around,Up soars this sacred peak in southern ground.Revisiting old haunts – what do I see?Pavilions new rise where none used to be.

  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms: China’s Epic Saga of Heroes, War, and Strategy

    Regarded as one of China’s “Four Great Classical Novels,” Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi) is more than a literary masterpiece – it is a cultural touchstone that has shaped Chinese ideas of heroism, loyalty, and strategy for over 600 years. Written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty,…

  • Zhang Cheng

    There was a man surnamed Zhang in Henan Province whose ancestors were from Shandong. During the latter part of the Ming Dynasty, when Shandong was in wide-spread turmoil, his wife was captured and taken away by Manchu soldiers. After that, as Zhang often used to travel to Henan, he decided to settle down there.

  • The ointment for chapped hands

    A family in the state of Song made an excellent ointment for chapped hands; so for generations they engaged in laundering. A man who heard of this offered a hundred pieces of gold for their recipe.

  • Dao De Jing – Chapter 31

    Weapons are objects of ill omen, reviled by the people. Thus, followers of the Dao abstain from employing them.