Chinese Stories

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Wu Yan and Su Liu 
 
Two Ugly Imperial Concubines 
 

In ancient China most men chose their wives by appearance, let alone the emperors. But during the Spring and Autumn Period, two ugly but virtuous and able women became imperial concubines in succession in a kingdom called Qi.

It is said there was a girl so ugly that her eyes sank deep in her face, sparse hair could hardly cover her head, and her skin was as dark as pitch. Born in Wu Yan, she was called after the place. Since she was so bad looking, she lived alone until her 40. At that time wars surged up between the kingdoms from time to time. One day Wu Yan summoned up courage and went to see the Emperor Xuan. When she was presented at court, she said, 'Your majesty, I would like to be at your service since our country is in great danger.' Of course, she was asked to explain why, 'It is in a chaotic state at home with two strong kingdoms, Qin and Chu, surrounding us. But your majesty haven't sensed the slightest danger at this moment of life and death.' The emperor was struck dumb with her words and gave up his luxurious life and put himself in efforts to make the country prosperous. Wu Yan was not only the spouse, but also a straight friend to the emperor.

Things came not singly but in pairs. Several generations later there lived in Qi another ugly girl. Since she had a tumor in her neck, she was named Su Liu. It was goiter in fact. Because of it, people kept away from her. Once Emperor Min went on a sightseeing tour to the suburbs. All the people crowded along the road while Su Liu concentrated on picking mulberry leaves. As she was called before the emperor, she explained she was doing her job wholeheartedly and not noticing things else. Emperor Min thought her a virtuous woman and wanted to take her back. And unexpectedly, she refused and said she should ask her parents' permission first. The emperor respected her will and held a grand marriage for her. Later she assisted in governing the country and brought peace and prosperity to people.


Written by column writer Hao Zhuo.
 

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The Donkey of Guizhou 
 
Once upon a time there was no donkey in Guizhou. So someone officious shipped one there, but finding no use for it, he set it loose at the foot of the mountain.

A tiger ran out from the mountains. When he saw this big tall thing, he thought it must be divine. He quickly hid himself in the forest and surveyed it from under cover. Sometimes the tiger ventured a little nearer, but still kept a respectful distance.

One day the tiger came out again. Just then the donkey gave a loud bray. Thinking the donkey was going to eat him, the tiger hurriedly ran away. After a while he sneaked back and watched the donkey carefully. He found that though it had a huge body it seemed to have no special ability.

After a few days the tiger gradually became accustomed to its braying and was no longer so afraid. Sometimes he even came near and circled around the donkey.

Later the tiger became bolder. Once he walked in front of the donkey and purposely bumped it. This made the donkey so angry that it struck out his hind legs and kicked wildly.

Seeing this the tiger was very gleeful, 'Such a big thing as you can do so little!' With a roar he pounced on the donkey and ate it up.
Written by  column writer Hao Zhuo.

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A Foolish Man Buys Shoes 
 
In the past there lived a foolish man in a small kingdom called Zheng. One day he wanted to buy himself a pair of new shoes. He measured his feet with a ruler first and wrote down his size. But he was in such a hurry to set out that he left it at home.

When he arrived at a shoe shop, he felt in the pocket only to find that it was not there. So he said apologetically, 'I have left the measurement at home and don't know the size. I'll fetch it in one minute.' With these words he hurried off as fast as his legs could carry him.

He ran back home, found it and then to the shop again. But still it took him quite a while and the shop was already closed then. He had gone to all this trouble for nothing and did not get his shoes.

Then someone asked him, 'Did you buy the shoes for yourself or someone else?' 'For myself, of course.' he answered. 'Then why don't you try the shoes on by yourself?'
Written by column writer Hao Zhuo.

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Driving a Wedge between the Enemy 
 
General Liu Yu of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) betrayed his country and surrendered to the emperor of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) in the north.

In 1137, General Yue Fei of the Southern Song got an order to stage a war against the Jin army. Yue Fei knew that there would be a rough battle now that Liu and his new master formed an alliance. But he also knew that there was a conflict between General Liu and Jinwuzhu, a general of Jin. Yue Fei would take advantage of this and weaken the enemy force by driving a wedge between the two generals. But how?

It so happened that Yue Fei received a report that a spy sent by Jinwuzhu was captured. Hearing this, Yue had an idea. He sent a word that he would see this spy.

When the spy was called in, Yue pretended to know the spy and said to him reproachfully, "What has happened to you, Zhang Bing? A few days ago, I ordered you to take Liu Yu a message expecting to collaborate with him to kill Jinwuzhu, but I haven't got any information from you. Where have you been? I am thinking of sending another man to complete the mission."

The spy felt puzzled, but he soon believed that Yue Fei had mistaken him for someone else. He said to himself, "Why don't I make the best of this mistake by taking this important message to my general?" He suddenly knelt down and said beseechingly, "Pardon me, General. Give me one more chance and I promise to hand the message to General Liu this time."

"Well, I pardon you", replied Yue Fei, "I give you another chance. But if you fail again, you can't escape bad luck." He picked up a writing brush and wrote a letter including an elaborated false scheme to kill Jinwuzhu. To make the wedge plan more credible, Yue wrapped the letter in a wax ball. Then he cut open the skin on the spy's leg and put the ball in the cut.

The enemy spy was so excited to get the information. He eagerly ran to Jinwuzhu and handed the letter to him. Jinwuzhu was greatly shocked when he learned that Liu Yu had been plotting to kill him. He immediately reported the message to the emperor. Very soon, Liu Yu was deposed and Yue Fei succeeded in weakening the enemy force and paved the way for his defeating the enemy.

Written by writer Ye Qinfa.

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Give the Enemy a Ray of Hope 
 

In 206 B.C., Cao Cao (155-220), a great statesman, artist of war and man of letters, led his army to attack the city of Huguan. As the city was strategically located and very difficult to access, Cao's army could not take it in spite of great efforts. Cao got extremely outraged and said, "Once I get into the city, I will have all those in it buried alive."

Soon his words were spread throughout the city. As the defenders in the city feared that it would really happen to them, they waged a desperate resistance. As a result, Cao's army found it even harder to win the battle. They made months of attempts to get in but in vain. Cao became more uneasy and consulted with his generals for a scheme.

At a meeting, General Cao Ren rose from his seat and said, "The art of war tells us that we should not put the enemy in too tight a ring, that the enemy should be left a way to survive. But now we have been trapping our enemy in a deadly corner. What's more, you have declared to have them all buried alive. This will only make them battle desperately against us, for they would rather fight to death than be buried alive. As I estimate, the enemy has almost run out of supplies. If we now give them a ray of hope by leaving an open in the ring, they are very likely to surrender to us, for they would rather survive than fight to death for nothing."

Cao Cao thought the idea quite sensible and ordered to do as the general said. As had been expected, the defending troops in the city soon crossed over to Cao's side. The city was finally seized without a cruel fight.

Written by column writer Ye Qinfa.

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Never too Deceitful in War 
 
In 383 AD, King Fu Jian of the state of Qianqin in North China led an army of 870,000 men to invade the Eastern Jin (317-420). Emperor Xiaowu ordered three generals, Xie Shi, Xu Yan and Xie Xuan, to lead 80,000 warriors to resist the invaders.

In November, the enemy reached the Fei River in Eastern Jin and began to set up defenses at the riverside. Across the river was Eastern Jin's troop. As there was a great disparity of strength, Xie and his comrades in arms had hardly any hope of victory if they started a face-to-face battle. Then they had an idea. They sent a herald to take a message to Fu Rong, the king's major general, "You are setting up defenses along the river, so it is quite obvious that you are planning for a long war. But as you are far from your country and supplies cannot be timely guaranteed, you are no doubt putting yourselves in a very disadvantageous situation. Why don't you let your troop retreat a few hundred yards so that we can cross the river to fight a decisive battle with you?"

This message was taken to King Fu Jian. He laughed and said, "How silly those generals are! How dare they wade across the river to fight against a troop of 870,000 men! They surely overrate themselves. Let's retreat so that they can come across. But we will return and wipe them out when they are in the middle of the river."

The retreat started. In a few seconds, there suddenly came a roaring cry from behind, "The king is defeated!" As the purpose of the action had not been properly declared, many men mistakenly believed that they were truly defeated. Therefore, they ran faster until the whole troop became beyond control. The Jin's troop immediately crossed the river and attacked the enemy from behind. General Fu Rong attempted to give a counterattack, but it was too late. His troop was already in a thorough confusion and no one would hear his order. This invading Titanic was at last sunk by a much smaller group of fighters.

King Fu Jian's mistake lies in the fact that he only knew that an army in water is easy to defeat. Yet, he should have also known that when two armies confront each other, the one who first retreats tends to lose.

Written by column writer Martin Ye.

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Dead Horse and Talents 
 
During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), the State of Yan was defeated by the State of Qi. When King Zhao was crowned as the king of Yan, he was determined to make his state strong to remove the humiliation. Yet he complained that he did not have real talents to assist him.

One day, he said to Guo Wei, a minister, "Can you tell me how I can get great talents?" Guo Wei replied by telling a story.

"Once there was a king who offered hundreds of ounces of gold for a winged steed, a horse which can run 500 kilometers a day. He sent one of his men to search through the country but the man only brought back a pile of bones of a dead steed for half of the gold. The king got outraged. But the man said, 'When people learn that you have paid so much for a dead horse, they will certainly offer to sell you a steed if anyone has got one.' As was expected, the king got three steeds in less than a year. If you are sincerely seeking top talents, why don't you treat me as a dead horse of that sort now?"

King Zhao did build Guo Wei a very expensive villa and regarded him as a teacher. Also he built a platform on which he placed a lot of presents for guests from different parts. Soon his sincerity was spread to every corner of the land. In a couple of years, great talents such as Ju Xin, Su Dai, Zou Yan, Le Yi all came from different states to gather around King Zhao. Very soon, with the assistance of them, Yan became a powerful state and defeated Qi. King Zhao accomplished his dream of revenge.

Written by writer Martin Ye.

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Power of Skirts 
 

In a field in the Liangshan Mountain, two groups of young men from the Chinese Yizu nationality armed with spears, sticks and bows are on the verge of a violent fight. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman dressed in a skirt edged with lace comes between them. The sharp spears almost touches her body, but she remains calm and shakes her skirt as if she is signaling the men. The fighters are all astonished by the sudden scene. They stop forwarding and slowly lower their arms, watching the waving of the skirt. After a moment's silence, the heads of both sides order to withdraw.

Who is that woman? Is she a powerful authority from a village? No! She is only an ordinary woman. The fact is that one group of the young men are from her husband's village and the other from her own. According to the customs of Yizu in that area, if an armed fight ever happens between two villages, no man from either village dare go to the border by risking being kidnapped or killed. Women, however, are exceptional. As usual, they can work in fields along the border or visit relatives and friends in the opposite village without being endangered. If another war should happen, any woman from the related village mediates in it by standing between the fighting parties. Her action is usually respected. If either of the two sides ignores her advice, she will put off her skirt and stands naked before them until she commits suicide for the sake of honor. If such an event does happen, the side who sticks to the war will be condemned and more people will join the war. As large scale wars are discouraged, the brave woman's advice is often favored by the fighters.


Written by column writer Martin Ye.

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A Willing Victim Letting Himself Caught 
 

"Taigong Diaoyu, Yuanzhe Shanggou" is a famous Chinese idiom about a willing victim letting himself be caught. The idiom comes from the following story.

Jiang Ziya lived near the Weishui River about 3,000 years ago. The area was the feudal estate of Count Ji Chang. Jiang Ziya knew Ji Chang was very ambitious so he hoped to get Ji's attention.

He often went fishing at the Weishui River, but he would fish in an unusual way. He hung a straight fishhook, without bait, three feet above the water. He often said to himself, "Fish, if you don't want to live any more, come and swallow the hook yourself."

Soon his strange way of fishing was reported to Ji Chang. Ji sent a soldier to fetch him. Jiang saw the soldier coming, but ignored him. Jiang just went on with his fishing, and was saying to himself, "Fishing, fishing, no fish has been hooked. A shrimp is up to mischief." The soldier reported this back to Ji Chang, who became more interested in Jiang.

Ji sent an official to invite Jiang this time. But Jiang again ignored the invitation. He just carried on fishing, and was saying, "Fishing, fishing, the big fish has not been hooked. A small one is up to mischief."

Then Ji Chang realized Jiang may be a great talent so he went to invite Jiang himself and brought many generous gifts with him. Jiang saw his sincere desire so decided to work for him.

Jiang helped Ji Chang and his son turn over the Shang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty. Jiang was given the title of Taigong so people called him Jiang Taigong.

In this idiom, Diaoyu means "fishing," Yuanzhe means "a person willing to" and Shanggou means get hooked. Today, people use this old idiom to describe someone who willingly falls in a trap or does something regardless of the result. For example, if someone sells something at a price of 10 times its real value, and he does not care if it can be sold, his situation could be described with this idiom.

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A Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot

When somebody overrates himself, he is often warned: "Don't be a mantis trying to stop a chariot." The saying comes from a legend dated back to the Spring and Autumn Period.

One day, the King of Qi went out for a hunting with his men. The carriages were going along, when suddenly a mantis stood in the middle of the road with its sickle-like forelegs opened. It was obvious that he was trying to fight against the carriage to hold it back. Surprised at the case, the King of Qi ordered to stop and asked what creature it was. When he was told it was called mantis, and it would go well up to bridle decisively when it was challenged. The King sighed with exclamation at its braveness. He mused a moment and added: "It's a great pity that it is not more than an insect. If it were a man, he must be the bravest warrior in the world!" Then the King ordered his carriages turn around it to leave the mantis there standing martially.

When the persons around heard the King's words, they were well touched and determined to devote themselves to the country.

As time passed, the meaning of the phrase changed to its opposite. Now it means that someone overrates oneself and try to hold back an overwhelmingly superior force.

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A Loss May Turn Out to Be a Gain
( ÈûÎÌʧÂí)
Long ago, near the frontier lived an old man. One day he found his horse missing. It was said that the horse was seen running outside the border of the country. The neighbors came to comfort him for the unfortunate loss. But the old man was unexpectedly calm and said, "It doesn't matter; it may not be a bad event, on the contrary, I think it can be a good one."

One night the old man heard some noise of horses and got up to see. To his surprise, he saw another beautiful horse as well as his own. It was clear that his horse had brought a companion home. Hearing the news, the neighbors all came to say congratulation on his good luck. At the greetings, however, the old man was very calm and thoughtful. He added, "It is true that I got a new horse for nothing, but it is hard to say whether it is good or bad. It may be an unlucky thing."

What he said was testified right. The son of the old man was very fond of the horse brought home, and one day, when he was riding the horse, he fell down from the horseback and terribly hurt in his left leg. Since then he was never able to walk freely. "Nothing serious," the old man said, "perhaps it is going to be good."

A year later, many of the youth there were recruited to fight in a war and most of them died. The son of the old man was absolved from the obligation for his disability, so he escaped death.

The old story tells us that good and bad, disaster and happiness can be converting objects to each other sometimes.

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A Fond Dream of Nanke
(ÄÏ¿ÂÒ»ÃÎ)
In Tang Dynasty, there lived a person called Chun Yufen, who thought himself a wise man but was not recognized by people then. So he often felt sad and drank down to pass his time.

One day, he was drinking under an old pagoda tree, to the south of his house. he soon fell asleep and had a dream.

In his dream, Chun Yufen met with an atomy who introduced himself to Chun Yufen that he came to invite him to the great Kingdom of Pagoda. Chun Yufen gladly went there with him. He found himself into a fairy world with many red gates, magnificent palaces, luxuriant pavilions and beautiful gardens; in a word, it couldn't be found in the real world.

The king appreciated him very much so that he was named the head of Nanke. Soon after, he married the king's pretty daughter. Chun Yufen was so happy with the life there that he totally forgot his hometown and his family.

But it was not long before the kingdom was invaded by another country and Chun Yufen had to lead the troops to hold out the enemies. Unfortunately his troops were defeated and his wife died. Chun Yufen was badly hit and he felt very disappointed to himself, so he decided to leave the Kingdom of Pagoda. In the end, he was sent home by the atomy. As soon as he arrived home, he woke up to realize what had happened was just a dream, which only took him a short time to have. There lay the half glass of alcohol on the ground in front of him. And there was an ant creeping on one of his feet. Looking down from the little creature he found an ant nest in the old pagoda tree. "Oh, it must have been the ant nest that I entered and took for that kingdom in my dream." he murmured.

The story is often used to say that someone is very happy about something not based on reality. For an example, someone thought he won a lottery and was very happy about it, but actually he did not win anything.

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A Wily Hare Has Three Burrows
( ½ÆÍÃÈý¿ß)
In the Warring States Period, the Prime Minister, Meng Changjun, of the Qi State, supported and fed many people at his home. One of them was called Feng Xuan. One day, Feng Xuan was sent to collect what the tenant farmers owed to the landlord (Meng Changjun). When he got to the place, he declared self-assertively to the farmers that all the tenancy contracts would be demolished at once. Cheers burst out among the happy farmers; they owed great gratitude to Meng Changjun, their landlord.

When Feng Xuan returned to the host and told about what he did, Prime Minister, Meng Changjun was not very happy about it. "Why did you do that?" the minister asked. "Well, though I had not brought you some fortune by doing that, I really won the morale of your farmers. That is more important to you." The minister reluctantly accepted his explanation.

Meng Changjun was dismissed from office the next year, so he decided to go back to his home town. When he arrived to his demesne, he was surprised of seeing the farmers were on both sides of the road welcoming him warmly. At the sight, Meng Changjun felt very puzzled as well as greatly moved, and he asked Feng Xuan for the reason. "That is out of question. This is the reward for your charities." Meng Changjun took a tumble at the words since he already forgot the matter happened last year. Feng Xuan continued, "A wily hare which has three burrows can keep itself safe. But now you have only one. So you must struggle to get the other two. You should pay a visit to the State of Wei and canvass for your ideas to the king there. When the king want to retain you for his minister's position, refuse him. This would get the attention of the king of the Qi State. And he would think more about you." As expected, the king of the Qi State felt very worried when he heard that his former Prime Minister could take a position in the hostile Wei State. So he acted quickly to reappoint Meng Changjun as the prime minister of the state.

In order to express his honesty, the king of Qi promised him some advantages. All were refused according to Feng Xuan, except for being the heres of a sacrificial utensil from the royal ancestor and the permission of building another temple in his demesne, which was considered the safe guard for the people there.

When the temple completed, Feng Xuan said to Meng Changjun, his master, "Now, all the three burrows have been built, and you should be safe now!" It was said Meng Changjun to have held the post for the rest of his life and his tenants were all living in peace.

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The Fall of a State
(Çã¹úÇã³Ç)
The powerful emperor, Liu Che, of Han Dynasty was a successful sovereign, who was not only a politician but also a talent poet. He started the famous official conservatory for collecting and composing folk songs and ballads.

A bandmaster in the conservatory called Liyannian was very good at songs and ballads and also did well in composition. One day, he showed the emperor a new piece: "In the north is a beauty, unique among her contemporaries. One look from her will cause the fall of a city; another, the fall of the state. Who knows to what degree her charm can reach? And she is the best." The emperor was very fond of the song. The song brought him not only great aesthetic feeling but also a bit affliction. The emperor sighed with regret, "How terrific it would be if there was a beauty like her in the world?"

A careless word may be important information to an attentive listener. The emperor's sister decided to search for such a girl from the country for the emperor as the empress. In the end they found that the sister of the bandmaster was just the one they were looking for. She was well educated, uniquely charming, and perfectly gorgeous. She danced before the emperor delicately and charmingly, which made the emperor completely excited. He watched the dance attentively and finally said, "Well, my sweet beauty, the country has certainly fallen by you!"

Since then, the expression, THE FALL OF A STATE, has been used to describe the most beautiful and charming woman.

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The Gentleman on the Beam
( ÁºÉϾý×Ó)
In the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), there lived a man called Chen Shi, who had been the head of a county. He was admired and respected by people for his fine morality and good reputation. He was ready to be promoted, instead he retired for some political reasons and lived in his hometown since then.

One year, turmoil and war took place because of a terrible famine. Robberies and thieves were rampant in that area.

One night a thief got into the house of Chen Shi through one of the windows. The thief was about start his deal when Chen Shi got up to relieve himself. So the thief hid himself on the beam immediately. Chen Shi had noticed the thief but he pretended to know nothing about him. After he tied the belt around his waist, instead of calling the thief down, he called his sons up and then spoke out to them, "Listen!" the father declared, "As a man, one should act straightly and firmly. He should do good deeds all his life. And I don't think those who serve the devils have an instinct for evil." The address made by the father in the middle of the night puzzled the sons. They didn't know what on earth had happened. And then the father raised his voice and continued, "You must remember that one can be short of property, however, he must stand on his dignity." The father hinted for his sons what he said was all aimed to the man on the beam.

The thief felt very sorry and shamed for what he did. So he began to weep on the beam. Later, he climbed down and knelt before Chen Shi, "I'm terribly sorry, but that is all because of the famine and the war." At last Chen Shi forgave him, gave him some cloth, and let him go.

Though the thief in the story was a little commiserated with, yet he was regarded as a thief admittedly. Since then such a person has got another name, that is, THE GENTLEMAN ON THE BEAM.

M