According to the ‘Account of Zhao Yun’ (赵云传) in ‘The Records of the Three Kingdoms’ (三国志), Zhao Yun (styled Zilong, 子龙) was a distinguished general serving under his warlord, Liu Bei 刘备. It is said that Zhao was not only …
Continue reading “Zhao Zilong’s solo rescue of Liu Bei’s infant son”
Qin Shubao (秦叔宝, or Qin Qiong 秦琼, ?–638,) and Luo Cheng 罗成 were cousins, and they were characters in the Qing Dynasty novel Complete Biography of Explaining the Tang Dynasty 《说唐演义全传》 (Shuo Tang Yanyi Quan Zhuan, author unknown). Luo Cheng …
Continue reading “Qin Qiong knocking down the bronze banner”
Guo Ziyi (郭子仪 697–781), posthumously bestowed the title Prince Zhongwu of Fenyang (汾阳忠武王) because of his birth place and his contribution to the court, was the greatest Tang-dynasty general. He played the key role in military campaigns against the Uyghur …
Continue reading “Guo Ziyi Deterring the Enemy Without Armour”
General Guo Ziyi deterring the mighty enemy has been a famous event in ancient China around mid-8th century. Deciphering this story scene on Chinese porcelain plates and tiles, however, has not been straightforward and has taken iconography specialists decades to decode. Congratulations to Dr Yibin Ni who is the first scholar who identified this image on Chinese porcelain.
Dong Zhuo (董卓 d. 192), a tyrannic warlord rising to power at the end of the Han dynasty, caused great concern among courtiers and officials. Wang Yun (王允), the Minister Over the Masses (司徒 Situ), was entrusted to figure out …
Continue reading “The Couple’s Tryst in the Phoenix Pavilion Making Dong Zhuo Fly into a Fury”
Nicknamed xingzhe (行者), ‘Pilgrim’ or ‘Traveller’, Wu Song (武松) is a popular fictional figure well-known for his slaying a tiger single-handedly after he was intoxicated on local rice wine. His heroic deed was first recorded as a title of a …
Continue reading “Wu Song Slaying the Tiger”
‘Wu Song slaying the tiger’ is a popular fictional story among Chinese people. But it’s hardly noticed that this story scene has been chosen in Chinoiserie decorative art in Europe. Here is Dr Yibin Ni’s interesting research and his unique insights.
One day during the Tang dynasty (618-907), Li Keyong (李克用, 856-908), the Prince of Jin (晋王), went out hunting with an entourage of dozens of soldiers, when he encountered a woodcutter in a quiet valley. The woodcutter told Li that …
Continue reading “Li Cunxiao Slaying a Tiger”
‘Yang Xiang trying to throttle the tiger to rescue her father’ is a well-known story passed down from generation to generation in ancient China. However, Yang Xiang has sometimes been portrayed as a male figure on traditional Chinese artworks. Let’s invite Dr Yibin Ni to explain the reasons behind this puzzling phenomenon.
Early in Jin dynasty (晋 265–420), Yang Feng 杨丰 and his teenage daughter, Yang Xiang 杨香, were harvesting the millet crops in the fields when he was attacked by a tiger. Though only fourteen-years-old and without any weapon in her …
Continue reading “Yang Xiang Trying to Throttle the Tiger to Rescue Her Father”
The story scene refers to an old Chinese saying: in the fight between the sandpiper and the clam, the fisherman has the best of it. This parable came from an ancient Chinese text entitled ‘Strategies of the Warring States (战国策 …
Continue reading “In the fight between the sandpiper and the clam, the fisherman has the best of it”
People who are not familiar with Chinese history and parables may have the impression that the above image is a genre painting of fisherman’s daily life. But in fact, there is more meaning to it. Dr Yibin Ni will explain the story in detail and how this story scene has been presented in various forms of artworks.
Lv Bu (吕布 Lü Bu, died 199 CE) is known as an almost unchallenged fighter in the period of the Three Kingdoms (三国, 220-280 CE) in Chinese history. The scene on the vase depicts a crucial moment when Lv Bu’s …
Continue reading “Lv Bu’s Archery Stunt at the Camp Gate”
Xiahou Dun (夏侯惇, died 13 June 220) was one of Cao Cao’s (曹操, 155-220) most valued generals in the late Eastern Han dynasty (东汉, 25-220) of China. Xiahou showed his strong temperament even when he was in his early teens. …
Continue reading “Xiahou Dun Yanking an Arrow that Pierced His Eyeball”
Xiahou Dun, a heroic soldier in ancient China, was famous for his one-eyed appearance. Let’s appreciate how Dr Yibin Ni analyses the artistic presentation of this character on Chinese antique porcelain, woodblock print and other art forms, in association with comparable figures in Western culture.