In 202 BC, defeated by Liu Bang, Xiang Yu reached the Wu River. On the other side lay Jiangdong, where he had raised his army. He refused to cross.
“I crossed the river and went west with eight thousand young men of Jiangdong. Today not one of them returns. Even if the fathers and elder brothers of Jiangdong pitied me and made me king, with what face could I see them? Even if they said nothing, would I not be ashamed in my heart?”
He died there by his own hand. (Records of the Grand Historian)
In November 2018, Dolce & Gabbana promoted a large show in Shanghai with videos titled Qi kuai chi fan, Pick Up the Chopsticks and Eat. The brand deleted them from Weibo. On November 21, a screenshot of a private chat with the designer Stefano Gabbana spread on Weibo. That evening the show was cancelled. Its stage, which had cost eight million yuan, was already built.
In a later apology video, the two founders said duibuqi, sorry, in Chinese. Chinese Wikipedia files the episode under the heading “the controversy over insulting China.”
Guan Yu, the general of the Three Kingdoms known for his loyalty, is worshipped as a wu caishen, a martial god of wealth. “Merchants chose Guan Gong as their god of wealth because they value his loyal and righteous image,” China News Service wrote in 2011. The Paper put it this way: “Merchants revere Guan Gong’s loyal and trustworthy heart, and most of them worship him.”
A business daily explained the choice: “For merchants, for whom mutual trust is the most important standard, yi should be placed at the center of their values.”
On the evening of October 16, 2010, a 22-year-old student, Li Qiming, drove a car into two female students on the campus of Hebei University in Baoding. One died, and the other was injured. When he was stopped, he said: “Sue me if you dare. My dad is Li Gang.” His father was a deputy director of a public security bureau in Baoding.
On January 30, 2011, a court sentenced Li Qiming to six years in prison. Wo ba shi Li Gang became a sarcastic catchphrase.
King Zhuang of Chu gave his ministers a feast. Late in the evening, when all were drunk, the candles went out. In the dark a man pulled at the dress of one of the king’s women. She tore the tassel off his hat and told the king: “Bring the light and look for the man without a tassel.”
The king said: “I gave them wine and made them drunk. Why should I display a woman’s virtue and shame an officer?” He ordered: “Whoever drinks with me tonight and does not tear off his tassel has not enjoyed himself.” More than a hundred men tore off their tassels before the lights came back.
Three years later, in a battle against Jin, one officer always fought in front. He told the king that he was the man whose tassel had been torn off. The story is in Liu Xiang’s Garden of Stories (说苑).
After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao at Guandu, he took Yuan Shao’s papers. Among them he found letters that men in the capital and in his own army had written to Yuan Shao. He burned them all.
The Records of the Three Kingdoms records this. A commentary quotes Cao Cao’s reason: “When Yuan Shao was strong, even I could not be sure of keeping myself safe. How much less could the others?”
人活脸，树活皮 A person lives by face, a tree lives by its bark. A person must guard his good name. Also 人要脸，树要皮.
打人休打脸，骂人休揭短 When hitting someone, do not hit the face. When scolding someone, do not expose his faults.
揭短 To expose a person’s shortcomings and make them public.
得饶人处且饶人 Where one can spare a person, spare him. To be tolerant and leave room. The line is from the Song writer Yao Kuan.
留余地 To leave room. Not to go to extremes in speech or action, so that there is space to turn back.
Guan Zhong said of his friend Bao Shuya: “When I was poor, I traded with Bao Shuya and took the larger share of the profit. He did not think me greedy. He knew I was poor.” Guan Zhong failed in a plan for him, served three times and was dismissed three times, and fled from three battles. Each time Bao Shuya found a reason that was not a fault.
When Guan Zhong’s master lost the struggle for the throne of Qi, Guan Zhong was taken prisoner. Bao Shuya recommended him to the new ruler, Duke Huan, who put him in charge of the government. “My parents gave me life,” said Guan Zhong. “Bao Shuya is the one who knows me.”
In crosstalk, xiangsheng, a performer is expected to have a master. A performer with no recognized line of teachers is called a haiqing, and colleagues in the trade look down on him.
A People’s Daily article described taking a master as “the public announcement of a contract. The master must be responsible for the disciple, and the disciple must respect the teacher.” When Yan Xiaoru became a disciple of Ma Sanli in 1948, Li Jiechen stood at the ceremony as guarantor, baoshi.
Under Article 5 of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, anyone who applies to join must fill in an application and have two full Party members as sponsors, jieshaoren.
The sponsors must learn about the applicant’s thinking, character, history and work. They explain the Party’s program and constitution to the applicant and make a responsible report to the Party organization.