Liu Ling: The Alcoholic 刘伶病酒

Liu Ling was an ancient Chinese Daoist poet notorious for his love of alcohol, who, according to legend, asked that he be buried with a gourd of wine after his death.

He is known as one of The Seven Sages of Bamboo Grove.

The following story comes from ‘A New Account of Tales of the World’ (Shi Shuo Xin Yu).

Liu Ling was ill after drinking too much wine, but he still wanted to drink some more, so he asked his wife for it.

After pouring out all the wine and smashing the vessels, his wife pleaded with tears in her eyes, “You're drinking far too much. It's not the way to preserve your life. You'll have to stop drinking."

Ling said, "Fine. But I find it very hard to stop by myself. It can only be done if I pray to the ghosts and spirits and take an oath that I'll stop it. So you may get ready the wine and meat for the sacrifice."

His wife said, "As you said," and setting out wine and meat before the spirits, requested Ling to pray and take his oath.

Ling knelt down and prayed, "Heaven produced Liu Ling, and took 'wine' for his name. At one gulp he will down a gallon - five dipperfuls to ease the hangover. As for this woman's complaint, be careful not to listen."

He then finished off the wine and meat, and soon he was drunk again.

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刘伶是中国古代以爱喝酒而闻名的道家诗人。传说他要求死后以酒陪葬。

他是有名的竹林七贤之一。以下故事来自《世说新语》。

刘伶病酒，渴甚，从妇求酒。

妇捐酒毁器，涕泣谏曰：“君饮太甚，非摄生之道，必宜断之！”

伶曰：“甚善。我不能自禁，唯当祝鬼神自誓断之耳。便可具酒肉。”

妇曰：“敬闻命。”供酒肉于神前，请伶祝誓。

伶跪而祝曰：“天生刘伶，以酒为名，一饮一斛，五斗解酲。妇人之言，慎不可听！”

便引酒进肉，隗然已醉矣。

The Lovelorn Spirit 巨鹿石氏女

The following story is from the book Random Notes on the Living and Nether Worlds by Liu Yiqing (403-444). Liu was famous for his another book entitled ‘A New Account of Tales of the World’ (Shi Shuo Xin Yu).

Pang Ah of Julu was a very handsome man. A daughter of the Shi family in that district saw Pang in her family hall and fell in love with him at the first sight. When later she was seen calling on Pang, his wife became extremely jealous. One day, hearing the girl coming, Pang’s wife instructed the maids tie her up and take her home; but on the way the young lady vanished like smoke. The maids reported this to the girl’s family.

The girl’s father was astounded. ‘My daughter has not left the house,’ he said. ‘How dare you slander us like this?’

But Pang’s father watched his son carefully, and discovered the girl in his study one night. He seized her himself and went to the Shi family.

When the girl’s father saw her, he was surprised. ‘I have just come from a inner room,’ he said. ‘I saw my daughter there working with her mother. How can she be here?’

Ho told his servant to call his daughter out, and the moment the girl appeared the other vanished. The puzzled father told his wife to investigate, and the girl explained, ‘Last year when Pang came to visit at our family hall, I had a chance to peep at him. I have dreamed ever since of going to his home, and had been caught by his wife when I went in.’

‘Well, I have never seen such strange happenings!’ exclaimed her father. When a spirit is deeply involved, it can assume any form it chooses. So what vanished was her spirit after all.

Since then the girl resolved not to marry anyone else. A year later, however, Pang’s wife contracted a strange disease which proved incurable. Then Pang sent gifts to the Shi family and married their daughter.

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一下故事来自刘义庆（403-444）的《幽明录•巨鹿石氏女》。刘义庆以写《世说新语》而出名。

“巨鹿有庞阿者，美容仪。同郡石氏有女，曾内睹阿，心悦之。未几，阿见此女来诣阿，阿妻极妒，闻之，使婢缚之，送还石家，中路遂化为烟气而灭。婢乃直诣石家，说此事。

石氏之父大惊，曰：‘我女都不出门，岂可毁谤如此？’

阿父自是常加意伺察之。居一夜，方值女在斋中，乃自拘执以诣石氏。

石氏父见之，愕眙曰：‘我适从内来，见女与母共作，何得在此？’

即令婢仆于内唤女出，向所缚者，奄然灭焉。父疑有异，故遣其母诘之。女曰：‘昔年庞阿来厅中，曾窃视之。自尔彷佛即梦诣阿，及入户，即为妻所缚。’

石曰：‘天下遂有如此奇事！’夫精神所感，灵神为之冥著。灭者，盖其魂神也。

既而女誓心不嫁。经年，阿妻忽得邪病，医药无征，阿乃授币石氏女为妻。”

Zhang Liang: A Teachable Young Man 张良：孺子可教

Zhang Liang was a distinguished statesman of the early Western Han (207BC -25) period. Zhang was the descendant of a noble family of State of Han during the Warring States Period - his father, grandfather and great-grandfather (a total of five generations) were all royal officials of the state of Han. He later joined Liu Bang in 208 BC to rebel against the rule of Qin and helped him establish the Han Dynasty, after which he soon retired and became a practitioner of Daoism.

Zhang Liang was considered one of the Three Pillars of Liu Bang's victory, along with the Han Xin, the grand-general of Han forces and Xiao He, the first Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.

Here is a story about him recorded in the ‘Records of the Grant Historian’

One day when he was leisurely walking along a river near a bridge at Xia Pi, an elderly man in homespun approached, suddenly took off his shoe and dropped it under the bridge. He turned to Zhang and said, ‘Young man, go down and fetch it for me.’

Zhang was astonished, thinking of hitting the old man. However, he controlled himself on account of the other’s old age and went down to fetch the shoe. The old man then said, ‘Put it on for me.’ Since Zhang already fetched the shoe, When Zhang complied, the old man proceeded to lee knelt down to put it on. The old man just stretched out his foot for it and then going away with a laugh. Zhang looked at him in amazement.

After going some distance, the old man turned back and said, ‘You can be taught, young man! Meet me here five days from now at dawn.’ Zhang’s curiosity was aroused, and he knelt down and answered, ‘I will.’

Five days later Zhang Liang went back to the place at dawn. However, the old man was there before him. The old man said angrily, ‘Why are coming late for appointment with an old man? Come earlier five days from now.’ With that he left.

This time Zhang Liang got up early, but still the old man beat him to the clock. The old man was angry again, ‘Late again. Why? Come earlier five days from now.’ With that again he left.

This time, Zhang got up in midnight and went to wait at the bridge. The old man came shortly. He said approvingly, ‘That’s right.’ He took out a book and said, ‘Read this book and you will become the teachers of kings. Ten years from now you will make it big. Thirteen years from now you will see me again as the yellow rock at the foot of Mount Gucheng, north of the River Ji.’ Without another word he left and did not appear again.

When the day broke, Zhang examined the book and found that it was The Grand Duke’s Art of War. Prizing the book, he read it again and again.

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张良是西汉（公元前207年到公元25年）名臣。张良是战国时期韩国的贵族后代。他的父亲、祖父及曾祖五代都是韩国朝廷重臣。他后来加入刘邦的队伍，帮他成立汉朝。事成后退休，成为一个道学者。

张良是刘邦成事的‘汉家三杰’之一。另两名是汉军的大将军韩信与汉朝开国宰相萧何。

以下是《史记》记载有关张良的一个故事。

良尝从容步游于下邳圯上，有一老父，衣褐，至良所，直堕其履圯下，顾谓良曰：“孺子，下取履！”

良愕然，欲欧之，为其老，强忍，下取履。父曰：“履我！”良业为取履，因长跪履之。父以足受，笑而去。良殊大惊，随目之。

父去里所，复还，曰：“孺子可教矣。后五日平明，与我会此。”良因怪之，跪曰：“诺。”

五日平明，良往。父已先在，怒曰：“与老人期，后，何也？”去，曰：“后五日早会。”五日鸡鸣，良往。父又先在，复怒曰：“后，何也？” 去，曰：“后五日复早来。”

五日，良夜未半往。有顷，父亦来，喜曰：“当如是。”出一编书，曰：“读此则为王者师矣。后十年兴，十三年孺子见我济北，谷城山下黄石即我矣。”遂去，无他言，不复见。

旦日视其书，乃《太公兵法》也。良因异之，常习诵读之。

Shang People: Offspring of a Black Bird 殷商人的祖先：玄鸟

The Shang Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty.

The decline of the Xia Empire led to the rise of Shang as the leading state in the Empire. The clan totem of Shang was the bird. In the Yen Ben Zhi chapter of The Records of the Grant Historian (Shiji), it is written that the mother of Xie, the founder of Shang was impregnated by a Black Bird:

"Three ladies including Jian Di went to take a bath. They saw that a black bird dropped an egg. Jian Di took and devoured it, became impregnated and gave birth to Xie. Xie grew up, assisted Yu in his work to control the flood with success."

The use of the "black bird", as the father of Xie, relates to the "black bird" as a popular totem of ethnic groups in China. This passage indicates that the founders of Shang were of mixed origin.

The Book of Poems also praised that the sacred bird was sent down from Heaven, and gave birth to the first Shang King. The King thereby justified his authority by proclaiming that he had divine right to rule over his people.

Heaven commissioned the Black Bird,

To descend and give birth to [the father of our] Shang.

[His descendants] dwelt in the land of Yin, and became great.

[Then] long ago God appointed the martial Tang,

To regulate the boundaries throughout the four quarters.

[In those] quarters he appointed the princes,

And grandly possessed the nine regions [of the kingdom].

The first sovereign of Shang,

Received the appointment without any element of instability in it,

And it is [now] held by the descendant of Wu-ding.

The descendant of Wu-ding,

Is a martial king, equal to every emergency.

Ten princes, [who came] with their dragon-emblazoned banners,

Bear the large dishes of millet.

The royal domain of a thousand li,

Is where the people rest;

But there commence the boundaries that reach to the four seas.

From the four seas they come [to out sacrifices];

They come in multitudes; -

Jing has the He for its outer border.

That Yin should have received the appointment [of Heaven] was entirely right;

[Its sovereign] sustains all its dignities.

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据传统资料，商朝是夏朝后的中国的第二个朝代。

夏朝的衰落导致商成为强大的国家。商的族群图腾是鸟。据《史记•殷本纪》记载，商的始祖契的母亲简狄是被玄鸟受孕所生。

“三人行浴，见玄鸟堕其卵，简狄取吞之， 因孕生契。契長而佐禹治水有功。”

以玄鸟为契父，与中国古代族群普遍用玄鸟为图腾有关。上面的记载显示商朝始祖来源混杂。

《诗经•商颂•玄鸟篇》亦赞颂上天把玄鸟送来并生下商王。商王以此来表明上天给他统治的权利。

《诗经•商颂•玄鸟篇》

天命玄鸟，降而生商，宅殷土芒芒。

古帝命武汤，正域彼四方。

方命厥后，奄有九有。

商之先后，受命不殆，在武丁孙子。

武丁孙子，武王靡不胜。

龙旗十乘，大糦是承。

邦畿千里，维民所止，肇域彼四海。

四海来假，来假祁祁。

景员维河，殷受命咸宜，百禄是何。