This is from Scene Three of Act Three of the Chinese classic drama Romance of the Western Chamber (西厢记 Xixiang Ji), written by playwright Wang Shifu 王实甫 (1250–1336) in Yuan dynasty. The episode is commonly called Repudiation of the Billet-Doux …
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The story scene is originated from an anecdote dating back to the Tang dynasty (618-907). Cui Rong (崔戎, 780-835) is a statesman who is important enough to have a position in the ‘Biographies’ section in the official histories The Old …
Continue reading “The Boot-Swapping Ceremony for the Departing Governor”
After Zhang Liang (张良, d. 189 BCE) failed to assassinate the first emperor of China, he changed his name and went into hiding. One day, he ran into Lord Yellowstone 黄石公, a guru strategist by the Yi Bridge 圯桥. The …
Continue reading “Zhang Liang Fetching Shoe on Yi Bridge”
Have you ever seen such an image and wondered why a young man is holding a shoe and kneeling down in front of an old man? Is there any historical event relating to the shoe and such scene? Read on to see how Dr Yibin Ni deciphers the figures and stories for you.