🔎【Online Course Information】《Lectures at Su Shu Lou in Qian Mu’s Former Residence》 – History and Life Series: “A Brief Discussion on the ‘Chivalrous’ Culture in the Early Han Dynasty: Biographies of Ji Bu and Luan Bu”, Teacher Jiang Yitai, May 17, 2015
﹡﹡﹡﹡ Warm reminder﹡﹡﹡﹡
This month's courses are in response to the university's admission test.
→ Changed to a pure online course without registration←
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In the Biographies of Ji Bu and Luan Bu, Sima Qian describes two seemingly different but actually complementary life stories: Ji Bu survived by being "gentle" without losing his "hardness", while Luan Bu faced "death" with hardness and finally gained "life". When Emperor Gaozu executed Ding Gong who had "surrendered", he pardoned his former "mortal enemy" Ji Bu; when Luan Bu openly cried and sacrificed for the "rebel" Peng Yue, he was appreciated and promoted instead - history shows an astonishing irony here: loyalty and treachery have never been labels of black and white, but the life attitudes that people show in the torrent of fate.
As a fierce general under Xiang Yu, Ji Bu had forced Liu Bang into desperate situations on the battlefield many times. However, when the Overlord committed suicide at the Wujiang River, this Chu general who had "embarrassed the King of Han many times" was able to escape from a deadly situation with a reward of a thousand gold coins. He "broke the hard and turned it into the soft", shaved his head and became a slave, hiding in the market, and finally became a minister of the Han Dynasty. However, Ji Bu was not a coward. Later, when Empress Lü wanted to attack the Huns in a fit of anger, he angrily rebuked those in power in the court, thus preventing the country from being plunged into war again, demonstrating his heroism and courage.
Luan Bu, another protagonist in the biography, had an even more dramatic life experience. He was poor when he was young and once became a slave, but because of his extraordinary loyalty and righteousness, he became the confidant of Liang Wang Peng Yue. When Peng Yue was executed for "treason" and the whole world was shocked and no one dared to bury him, Luan Bu was not afraid of the ban, and publicly held a memorial service for Peng Yue and cried bitterly, refusing to surrender even when he died. Facing Emperor Gaozu's death by frying in oil, he calmly accepted the punishment without being humble or arrogant, and thus saved himself from great disaster. Finally, he made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, was granted the title of marquis and appointed as prime minister, and was revered as the land god by the people.
In contemporary society, "survival wisdom" is often simplified into sophisticated egoism, while "integrity" is interpreted as inappropriate stubbornness. However, Sima Qian directly revealed the true meaning and his own inner thoughts with the two sentences "He must be confident in his abilities, so he is not ashamed of being humiliated" and "He truly knows where he is and does not take his death seriously": A true hero dares to lie dormant in humiliation, just waiting for the moment to fulfill his responsibilities; true loyalty lies in how to stick to one's principles, not compromise in the face of difficulties, and keep one's original intention in difficult situations.
At 2:00 p.m. on May 17, 2015, we invite everyone to follow Professor Jiang Yita to delve deeper into the Biographies of Ji Bu and Luan Bu, and explore the life wisdom that transcends time between compromise and persistence, survival and morality. When we feel lost in life's difficulties or even the changing times, this history may help you find your own way of persevering and dealing with the world.
📆Event time: May 17, 2025 (Saturday), 14:10 – 16:00
🏡Event location: Online course
👨🏫Activity Speaker: Teacher Jiang Yitai
🔔Activity fee: free
🚀Online course information:
The live broadcast URL will be announced on the "Qian Mu Former Residence YouTube Channel" and "Qian Mu Former Residence FB Fan Page" after the course starts. Everyone is welcome to leave comments and discuss!
# Historical Records # Biographies of Ji Bu and Luan Bu
# Jibu # Luanbu # Zhujia
# Han Gaozu # A promise worth a thousand gold
# Xia Culture # Breaking the Hard into the Soft
# survival wisdom # integrity
# Sima Qian # Chu-Han Contention
# Jiang Yitai # Su Shulou Lecture Hall
# free activities # Chinese history
# Former Residence of Qian Mu # Online Course
🔎【Online Course Information】《Lectures at Su Shu Lou in Qian Mu’s Former Residence》 – History and Life Series: “A Brief Discussion on the ‘Chivalrous’ Culture in the Early Han Dynasty: Biographies of Ji Bu and Luan Bu”, Teacher Jiang Yitai, May 17, 2015
