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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 88): A Shaman’s Prognosis

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 A Sword believed to belong to the King of Yue, Gou Jian. Photo by Siyuwj The 4th year of the Emperor Gaozu(203 B.C. continued) Scholar Kuai Che, seeing that Han Xin held the key to the outcome of the war, approached Han Xin with an elaborate analogy disguised as physiognomy:…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 87): Why Not A Real King?

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 Wei River, Shandong Province, Photograph by Ngguls The 4th year of the Emperor Gaozu(203 B.C. continued) Han Xin had already taken control of the capital of Qi and was pursuing the King of Qi to the east. In response, Xiang Yu sent his general, Long Ju, with an army…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 86): Save Me A Cup of Soup?

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 (continued) The Great Gulch in Guangwu Town, Xingyang, Henan Province The 4th year of the Emperor Gaozu(203 B.C.) In October, during the winter, Han Xin caught the Qi army off guard at Lixia, overrunning them and advancing toward Linzi, the capital of Qi. The King of Qi,…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 85): Reincarnation

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 A Grainery in Ao’cang, Henan Province The 3rd year of the Emperor Gaozu (204 B.C. continued) The King of Han managed to sneak out through the Yu Gate of Chenggao with only Duke of Teng(Xiahou Ying) on a wagon. They headed north and crossed the Yellow River, eventually…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 84): War of Disinformation

An early example of disinformation of warfare in Chinese history

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 Sishui Pavilion, Xuzhou(Pengcheng), Jiang Su Province. Photo by Hu Chuansong The 3rd year of the Emperor Gaozu (204 B.C. continued) The King of Han asked Chen Ping, “The country is in turmoil—when will this chaos end?” Chen Ping replied, “There are only a few of Xiang Yu’s…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 83): No Preordained Strategy

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 Mount Hua, Photograph by Ondřej Žváček The 3rd year of the Emperor Gaozu (204 B.C. continued) The army of Chu clashed with the army of Han along the expressway, which Han had built as a vital supply route. Han’s army soon faced a food shortage. The King of Han consulted with…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 82): The Defection of Ying Bu

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 A Pagoda in Jiu Jiang, Jiangxi Province, photograph by Ding Ding The 3rd year of the Emperor Gaozu (204 B.C. continued) There was a solar eclipse on October 30, and the sky went dark during the day. Another solar eclipse occurred on November 29. Sui He, the envoy of the…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 81): The battle of Jingxing

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 2 Scroll 10 Duration of 2 years Jingxing Pass, Hebei Province The 3rd year of the Emperor Gaozu (204 B.C.) In October of that winter, Han Xin and Zhang Er led tens of thousands of troops eastward to attack the Kingdom of Zhao. The King of Zhao, Zhao Xie, and Lord Cheng’an, Chen Yu,…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 80): Know Thine Enemy

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 1 Scroll 9 (continued) Guanque Tower, A landmark in Puban (Yongji) County, Shanxi Province The 2nd year of Emperor Gaozu(205 B.C. continued) The King of Han returned to his capital, Yueyang, in June. On June 6, he designated his son, Liu Ying, as the Crown Prince and declared an amnesty…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 79): Passing the Helm

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 1 Scroll 9 (continued) Xingyang Pass, Xingyang, Henan Province The 2nd year of Emperor Gaozu(205 B.C. continued) Tian Heng launched an attack on Tian Jia, the King of Qi appointed by Xiang Yu, forcing Tian Jia to flee to the Kingdom of Chu, where he was eventually killed. Tian Heng then…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 78): The Debacle in Pengcheng

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 1 Scroll 9 (continued) Yunlong Park in Xuzhou (Pengcheng), Jiangsu Province The 2nd year of Emperor Gaozu(205 B.C. continued) The King of Han crossed the Yellow River to the south at the crossing of Pingyin Ford. His procession was halted in the town of Xincheng in Luoyang City by Mr.…

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Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 77): Chen Ping, A Handsome Careerist

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance By Sima Guang Translated By Yiming Yang Annals of Han Book 1 Scroll 9 (continued) Chen Ping’s hometown, Yuanyang(Yangwu) County The 2nd year of Emperor Gaozu(205 B.C.) In October of that winter, King Xiang Yu issued a secret order to the King of Jiujiang, the King of Hengshan, and the King of Linjiang to attack the Honorary Emperor. They…