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Xin Qiji (28 May 1140—1207) was a Chinese poet, military leader, and statesman during the Southern Song dynasty.

At the time of his life, northern China was occupied by the Jurchens, a nomadic people from what is now north-east China then regarded as barbarians. Only southern China was ruled by the Han Chinese Southern Song dynasty. Xin was born in the modern city of Jinan of Shandong Province, and in his childhood his grandfather told him about the time when the Han Chinese ruled the north and told him to be an honorable man and seek revenge against the barbarian for the nation. It was then when he developed his patriotic feelings. In fact, his grandfather named him after a legendary military commander from the Western Han, Huo Qubing. Both “Qubing” and “Qiji” mean to deliver oneself from diseases.

Xin started his military career at the age of twenty-two. He commanded an insurrection group of fifty men and fought the Jurchens alongside another resurgent Geng Jing’s much larger troops, consisted of tens of thousands of men. Although they had some small-scale victories, in 1161, because the Jurchens were getting more united internally, Xin persuaded Geng Jing to join forces with the Southern Song army in order to fight the Jurchens more effectively. Geng Jing agreed. Unfortunately, just when Xin finished a meeting with the Southern Song Emperor, who endorsed Geng Jing’s troops, Xin learned that Geng Jing had just been assassinated by their former friend-turned-traitor, Zhang Anguo. With merely fifty men, Xin fought his way through the Jurchens’ camp and captured Zhang Anguo. Xin then led his men safely back across the border and had Zhang Anguo decapitated by the emperor.

Xin’s victory gained him a place in the Southern Song court. However, because the emperor was surrounded by people who supported “an appeasement policy” rather than open warfare with the Jurchens, Xin was pushed over. From 1161 to 1181, he held a series of minor posts that never amounted to anything momentous. Although during the same period, he tried to offer the emperor his treatises on how to manage the invasions by the Jurchens as well as other state affairs, he was never taken seriously. Finally he resolved to doing things on his own. He improved the irrigation systems in his district, he relocated poverty-struck peasants, and he trained his own troops. His ambition soon aroused suspicion against him. In 1181, he was forced to resign. He left for Jiangxi where he then stayed and perfected his famous ci form of poetry for ten depressing years.

Here are some of the most quoted lines from his poetry.

“众里寻他千百度，蓦然回首，那人却在灯火阑珊处。” -《青玉案·元夕》

“Having almost exhausted my energy searching for this person (vague), I suddenly turned my head, and there he was, standing at the far end of the street where the candlelight is the dimmest.”

“少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼。 爱上层楼，为赋新词强说愁。 而今识尽愁滋味，欲说还休。 欲说还休，却道天凉好个秋。” -《丑奴儿》

“When I was young, I could not tell what melancholy was, but I loved to climb towers. As I climbed up this and that tower, I wrote many a poem too, but these poems did not communicate true melancholy, they were simply a word game for me. As for now, I have grown old and tasted the bitter taste of melancholy, I wish to talk and write about it, but I am silenced, I give up even before I try. How I want to talk and write about it, but give up even before trying! I find myself exclaiming instead, that this chilly weather makes a good fall!”

Emperor Taizong of Tang (January 23, 599 – July 10, 649), personal name Lǐ Shìmín, was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. As he encouraged his father, Li Yuan (later Emperor Gaozu) to rise against Sui Dynasty rule at Taiyuan in 617 and subsequently defeated several of his most important rivals, he was ceremonially regarded as a cofounder of the dynasty along with Emperor Gaozu.

He is typically considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, emperor in all of Chinese history. Throughout the rest of Chinese history, Emperor Taizong’s reign was regarded as the exemplary model against which all other emperors were measured, and his “Reign of Zhen Guan” was considered a golden age of Chinese history and required study for future crown princes. During his reign, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, Tang China enjoyed peace and prosperity. During Taizong’s reign, Tang was the largest and the strongest nation in the world. It covered the entire territory of present day China and much of central asia. It laid foundation for the Xuanzong reign, which is considered China’s greatest period of time.

In 630, Emperor Taizong sent his general Li Jing against Eastern Tujue — to which Tang had once submitted — defeating and capturing its Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi and destroying Eastern Tujue power. This made Tang the dominant power in East and Central Asia, and Emperor Taizong subsequently took the title of Tian Kehan (”Heavenly Khan”).

Emperor Taizong was, in opposition to nobility of the time, a frank rationalist, openly laughing of superstitions and heaven’s claimed signs, and modifying important rites in order to ease agricultural labour[4]. The modern Chinese historian Bo Yang opined that Emperor Taizong achieved greatness by accepting criticism that others would find difficult to accept and trying hard not to abuse his absolute power (using Emperor Yang of Sui as a negative example), as well as employing capable chancellors Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Wei Zheng. Emperor Taizong’s wife Empress Zhangsun served as a capable assistant to him as well.

Xi Shi was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue.

Xi Shi’s beauty was said to be so extreme that while leaning over a balcony to look at the fish in the pond, the fish would be so dazzled that they forgot to swim and gradually sunk away from the surface, birds would forget to fly and fall from the sky, the moon would fade, and flowers would close their petals in shame in comparison to her. This description serves as an idiom 沉鱼落雁, 闭月羞花 (translated literally; sink fish fall goose, obstruct moon shame flowers) which is used to compliment someone’s beauty.

King Goujian of Yue, king of Yue, was once imprisoned after a defeat in a war by King Fuchai of Wu, king of the State of Wu. The state of Yue later became a tribulatory to Wu. Secretly planning his revenge, Goujian’s minister Wen Zhong suggested training beautiful women and offering them to Fuchai as a tribute. His other minister, Fan Li, found Xi Shi and Zheng Dan, and gifted them to Fuchai in 490 BC.

Bewitched by the beauty of Xi Shi and Zheng Dan, Fuchai forgot all about his state affairs and on their instigation, killed his best advisor, the great general Wu Zixu. Fuchai even built Guanwa Palace (Palace of Beautiful Women) in an imperial park on the slope of Lingyan Hill, about 15 kilometers west of Suzhou. The strength of Wu dwindled, and in 473 BC Goujian launched his strike and put the Wu army to full rout. King Fuchai lamented that he should have listened to Wu Zixu, and then committed suicide.

In one disputed account of her fate, it was written that Goujian ordered Xi Shi to be drowned by being thrown into a lake, to avoid being tempted by her as Fuchai was.

In legends, after the fall of Wu, Fan Li retired from his minister post and lived with Xi Shi on a fishing boat, roaming like fairies in the misty wilderness of Tai Ho Lake, and no one has seen them ever since.

She is remembered by the Xi Shi Temple, which lies at the foot of the Zhu Lou Hill in the southern part of the city, on the banks of the Huansha River.

The West Lake in Hangzhou is said to be the incarnation of Xi Shi, hence it is also called Xizi Lake, Xizi being another name for Xi Shi, meaning Lady Xi.

There is another well-known figure of unknown origin, probably fictional and parodical, named Dong Shi. The “Dong” in her name means “east” contrasting to Xi Shi’s “Xi”, which means “west”. Apart from her name, she is said to be the exact opposite of Xi Shi in being extremely ugly and, in modern depictions, fat. This in turn has created the saying “Dong Shi imitates a frown” (Xi Shi, being a sickly girl, often had chest pains; it was said that her beauty was most marvellous when she was wincing from the pain), meaning to attempt imitating another work only to show up one’s own weaknesses.

Consort Yang Yuhuan (June 1,[citation needed] 719 — July 15, 756), often known as Yang Guifei(with Guifei being the highest rank for imperial consorts at her time), known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen, was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang for many years. During the Anshi Rebellion, as Emperor Xuanzong was fleeing from the capital Chang’an to Chengdu, she was killed because his guards blamed the rebellion on her powerful cousin Yang Guozhong and the rest of her famil

Consort Yang was known for being slightly overweight, which was a much sought-after quality at the time. Misinterpretation of quotes describing this in the West has often led to her being described as “obese”. The term “obese”, when used to describe Yang Guifei, must not be viewed in its modern context of someone who is extremely overweight. She was often compared and contrasted with Empress Zhao Feiyan, the beautiful wife of Emperor Cheng of Han, because Consort Yang was known for her full build while Empress Zhao was known for her slender build. This led to the Four-character idiom yanshou huanfei, describing the range of the types of beauties.

Lychee was a favorite fruit for Yang, and the emperor had the fruit, which was only grown in southern China, delivered by the imperial messenger service’s fast horses, whose riders would take shifts day and night in a Pony Express-like manner, to the capital. (Most historians believe the fruits were delivered from modern Guangdong, but some believe they came from modern Sichuan.)

Consort Yang was also granted use of the Huaqing Pool which had been the exclusive private pool of previous Tang Emperors.

In the following generation, a long poem, “Song of the Everlasting Sorrow”, was written by the poet Bai Juyi describing the Emperor’s love for her and perpetual grief at her loss. It became an instant classic, known to and memorized by Chinese schoolchildren far into posterity. The story of Yang Guifei and the poem also became highly popular in Japan and served as sources of inspiration for the classical novel “The Tale of Genji” which begins with the doomed love between an emperor and a consort, Kiritsubo, who is likened to Consort Yang.

Wang Zhaojun was born to a prominent family of Zigui country, Nan county (now Xingshan county, Hubei) in the south of the Western Han empire. She entered the harem of Emperor Yuan probably after 40 BC. During her time in the Lateral Courts, Wang Qiang was never visited by the emperor and remained as a palace lady-in-waiting. When choosing a new wife, the Emperor was first presented with portraits of all the possible women. Wang Zhaojun’s portrait was either never viewed by the Emperor, or was not in its true form, and therefore the Emperor overlooked her.

In 33 BC, Huhanye visited Chang’an on a homage trip, as part of the tributary system between the Han and Xiongnu. He took the opportunity to ask to be allowed to become an imperial son-in-law. Instead of honouring the chanyu with a princess, Huhanye was presented with five women from the imperial harem, one of them who was Wang Zhaojun.

A story from the Hou Han Shu relates that Wang Zhaojun volunteered to join the shanyu. When summoned to court, her beauty astonished the emperor’s courtiers and made the emperor reconsider his decision to send her to the Xiongnu.

Wang Zhaojun became a favourite of the Huhanye shanyu, giving birth to two sons. Only one of them seems to have survived, Yituzhiyashi. They also had at least one daughter, Yun, who was created Princess Yimuo and who would later become a powerful figure in Xiongnu politics. When Huhanye died in 31 BC, Wang Zhaojun requested to return to China. Emperor Cheng, however, ordered that she follow Xiongnu levirate custom and become the wife of the next shanyu, the oldest brother(or her stepson, born by her husband’s first wife) of her husband. In her new marriage she had two daughters.

Wang was honoured as Ninghu Yanzhi.

Diao Chan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have been born in 161 or 169 AD, depending on the source. However, unlike the other three beauties, she does not appear in any known historical writings, and is quite possibly a fictional character.

Diao Chan appears in the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in a plot involving the warrior Lü Bu and the warlord Dong Zhuo. According to historical records, Lü Bu did have relations with a maid of Dong Zhuo’s. However, there is no evidence that this person’s name was Diao Chan. In fact, it is extremely unlikely that it was Diao Chan, because “Diāo” was not, and is not, commonly used as a Chinese family name. “Diāochán” likely referred to the sable (diào) tails and jade decorations in the shape of cicadas (chán), which at the time adorned the hats of high-level officials.

There is a folktale that Diao Chan was captured by Cao Cao after Xiapi. When Cao Cao was trying to keep Guan Yu in his service, he sent Diao Chan to seduce Guan Yu. Guan Yu suspected that he was being tricked as he knew how she had betrayed Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo so he killed her to prevent her from hurting anyone else. A second version of this story is that years after Xiapi, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu all wanted to marry Diao Chan and the three argued bitterly over her. To end the strife between them Guan Yu cut her in half.

In one Yuan Dynasty play, Diao Chan is introduced to Guan Yu by his ‘brother’ Zhang Fei after the death of Lü Bu, but instead of accepting her as the spoils of war, Guan Yu decapitates her with his sword. This event does not appear either on the history records or the novel itself, but is propagated through mass media such as operas and storytelling. There is also another idea of what happened to Diao Chan. There is also a source that says she did meet Guan Yu, but he let her become a nun. After hearing this, Cao Cao wanted to take her as his own. When the news reached Diao Chan, however, she committed suicide.

The Hongwu Emperor (October 21, 1328 – June 24, 1398), known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by the temple name Taizu of the Ming was the founder and first emperor (1368–98) of the Ming Dynasty of China. His era name, Hongwu, means “great military power”.

In the middle of the 1300s, with famine and plagues and peasant revolts sweeping across China, Zhu became a leader of an army that conquered China, ending the Yuan Dynasty and forcing the Mongols to retreat to the Mongolian steppes. With his seizure of the Yuan capital Dadu (present-day Beijing), he claimed the Mandate of Heaven and established the Ming Dynasty in the year 1368.

Emperor Wu of Han (simplified Chinese: 汉武帝; pinyin: hànwǔdì; Wade-Giles: Wu Ti), (156 BC–March 29, 87 BC), personal name Liu Che, was the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty in modern day mainland China, ruling from 141 BC to 87 BC. Emperor Wu is best remembered for the vast territorial expansion that occurred under his reign, as well as the strong and centralized Confucian state he organized. He is cited in Chinese history as one of the greatest emperors of the Han dynasty. Emperor Wu’s effective governance made the Han Dynasty one of the, if not the most powerful nation in the world.As a military campaigner, Emperor Wu led Han China through its greatest expansion — at its height, the Empire’s borders spanned from the modern Kyrgyzstan in the west, to northern Korea in the northeast, and to northern Vietnam in the south. Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China and dispatched his envoy Zhang Qian in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi of modern Uzbekistan. This resulted in further missions to Central Asia. Although historical records do not describe him as a follower of Buddhism, exchanges probably occurred as a consequence of these embassies, and there are suggestions that he received Buddhist statues from central Asia, as depicted in Mogao Caves murals.

He ordered the first census in recorded history of China to take place in his reign.

While establishing an autocratic and centralized state, Emperor Wu adopted the principles of Confucianism as the state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics. These reforms would have an enduring effect throughout the existence of imperial China and an enormous influence on neighboring civilizations. Emperor Wu’s reign lasted 54 years — a record that would not be broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1800 years later.

Emperor Wu was the tenth child of Emperor Jing, and was born to one of Emperor Jing’s favorite concubines, Consort Wang Zhi in 156 BC. His mother had initially been married once, to a commoner called Jin Wangsun and had a daughter from that marriage. However, her mother Zang Er (a granddaughter of one-time Prince of Yan, Zang Tu, under Emperor Gao) was told by a fortuneteller that both Wang Zhi and her sister would one day become extremely honored. Zang got the idea to offer them to Crown Prince Liu Qi (later Emperor Jing) and forcibly divorced Wang Zhi from her husband in the process. A son was born shortly after Prince Qi succeeded the throne from his deceased father Emperor Wen.

When Consort Wang was pregnant, she claimed that she dreamed of a sun falling into her womb. It was also said that Emperor Jing dreamed of a crimson boar descending from the cloud into the palace. The young, newly born prince was therefore named Liu Zhi, with Zhi literally meaning “boar”, but also implying the dragon — a mystical sign of nobility and fortune. In 153 BC, Prince Zhi was made the Prince of Jiaodong.

As Emperor Jing’s formal wife Empress Bo had no children, his oldest son Liu Rong, born to his another favorite concubine Consort Li, was created crown prince in 153 BC. Consort Li was arrogant and easily jealous, and she hoped to become empress after Empress Bo was deposed in 151 BC. However, her lack of tact and bad personality would give Consort Wang a break. When Consort Li, out of a grudge to Emperor Jing’s sister Princess Piao, refused to let her son marry Princess Piao’s daughter Chen Jiao, Consort Wang took the opportunity and had Chen Jiao betrothed to Prince Zhi. Princess Piao then began incessantly criticize Consort Li for her jealousy — pointing out that if Consort Li became empress dowager, many concubines might suffer the fates of Consort Qi, Emperor Gao’s favorite concubine who was tortured, mutilated and killed by Emperor Gao’s wife Empress Dowager Lü after Emperor Gao’s death. Emperor Jing was shocked upon the suggestion, and decided that such risk must be prevented. He deposed Prince Rong from the successor position in 150 BC. Consort Li, enraged and humiliated with the turn of event, died very soon after. Prince Rong later was charged with committing misconducts, and committed suicide in custody.

That year, Consort Wang was created empress, and Prince Zhi became the crown prince, with his name changed to Liu Che. Given his young age, there was not much record of any accomplishments by him while being the Crown Prince. When Emperor Jing died in 141 BC, Crown Prince Che succeeded to the throne as Emperor Wu at age 15.

The Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: 康熙帝; pinyin: Kāngxīdì; Wade-Giles: K’ang-hsi-ti; Manchurian: Enkh Amgalan Khaan, May 4, 1654 – December 20, 1722) was the third Emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722. His reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese Emperor in history and one of the longest in the world.

However, having ascended the throne aged seven, he did not exercise much, if any, control over the empire until later, that role being fulfilled by his four guardians and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. Kangxi, considered one of China’s greatest Emperors, was a pivotal figure in Chinese history, having defeated the Three Feudatories, the Zheng Jing government on Taiwan who previously would not submit to Qing rule and the Tzarist Russia, expanded the Qing empire in the northwest, and achieved such literary feats as the Kangxi Dictionary. Kangxi’s reign brought about long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos.

Emperor Kangxi was the architect of the period known as the “Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong” which lasted generations past his own life.

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