In 983 A.D., Yao Tan (姚担) was appointed by Emperor Song Tai Zong (宋太宗, 976-998) as a palace official to tutor the crown prince, Yi Wang (益王). Yi Wang was known to be spendthrift, outspoken and unbending. Earlier, he had spent millions to build a rockery (artificial hill) in his palace. Upon completion, he hosted …
Bu Shi (卜式), a shepherd, accumulated great wealth during the reign of Han Wu Di (漢武帝, 140-88 BC). At that time, the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) was battling the Xiongnu (Huns), an ancient nationality in northern China. The war had drained the empire’s coffers. When Bu Shi learned about it, he submitted a statement …
More than 90 million Chinese carry the surname 張 (Tiu in Hokkien, Zhang in Mandarin). Together, they represent the third largest group in China with the same family name. The name carries with it more than 5,000 years of history, with intimate ties to both royalty and warfare. Its origin has to do with the …
The State of Qi (齊) under the reign of Xiang Gong (襄公 697-686 B.C.) was chaotic, depraved, immoral, degenerate and ineffectual. Some of the heirs of its aristocrats were forced to take refuge in other states. In 686 B.C., Qi Xiang Gong was slain by his own cousin Wu Zhi (無知), a trusted court official …
Shen Nong (神農) is a legendary figure in ancient China. Literally, shen is deity or god (神) nong agriculture (農), Shen Nong, therefore, means god of agriculture. In ancient times, people lacked food and suffered from hunger. It is said that during the time of Shen Nong, people started to gather seeds and fruits for …
Zhou Chu (周處) of the kingdom of Wu (吳) had lost his father at a young age during the Three Kingdoms Period (222-280 AD). By the time he turned 20, he was already a man of great strength that no ordinary person could match. But he had never cared to learn good manners and right …
Born during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD), Shi Seng Fu (釋僧富) did not let poverty be a barrier to education. He would read books even at night, using the light from burning firewood. By the age of 20, he could comprehend Chinese classic texts and historical annals. Shi Seng Fu decided to become a …
In this issue, we have two stories of honesty and cleanliness in two high-ranking officials during the Han Dynasty (221 BC-220 AD). Both of them are surnamed Wang (王). The first is Wang Jie (王吉) of first century BC. When he was still young, he lived in Chang’an (長安), the capital then, to study. The …
In April 313 A.D., Liu Cong (劉聰), emperor of Han Zhao of the Sixteen Kingdoms, installed his highest concubine Liu E (劉娥) as queen and decided to build a palace for her. After learning about this, Chen Yuanda (陳元達), military officer of the court, declared that the construction would not only drain the treasury but …
One day in February of 444 A.D., during the Northern Wei (北魏) Dynasty, Minister Gu Bi (古弼) went to pay respects to the emperor and suggest to him that part of the garden park in Shang Gu (上谷) be distributed to the landless peasants. At the time, the emperor was playing weiqi (圍棋) or Go …
