Mencius foretold Peng Chengkuo’s execution. Though the official had minor talent, he lacked the gentleman’s moral Way. Mencius warns cleverness without core virtue leads people to ruin amid dangerous political struggles.
This article re-evaluates Feng Dao, a Five Dynasties prime minister serving nine emperors, long condemned for disloyalty. It records his benevolent deeds aiding civilians amid chaos and cites his poems revealing his pragmatic creed: focus on good deeds rather than personal fame.
The Partition of Jin among the Three Families is regarded as the dividing line between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period mainly because it marked the complete collapse of the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty and the formal formation of the pattern of the Seven Powerful States in the…
This text traces the turbulent political shifts in the late Northern Song Dynasty, starting with Empress Dowager Gao’s regency after Emperor Shenzong’s death. It covers the Yuanyou Restoration, when conservatives led by Sima Guang abolished Wang Anshi’s New Policies. Factional splits among conservatives and Emperor Zhezong’s resentment followed, leading to the Shaosheng Restoration and…
This article examines the controversial life of Lord Mengchang (Tian Wen), one of the “Four Lords” of the Warring States period. It contrasts his self-serving opportunism against the loyalty of his peers, detailing his betrayals of both Qin and his native Qi. The narrative highlights his famous escape from Qin—aided by retainers skilled in…
The popular saying – “Liu Bei borrowed Jing Province and never returned” – is deeply entrenched in Chinese folklore, largely due to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yet historical records tell a far more nuanced story. In fact, the very notion of “borrowing Jingzhou” is something of a misleading construct, if not a…