Zhuge Liang and Tang

Sage emperors: invention of human

society• Fu-xi: subduer of animals, inventor of nets, baskets; marriages

• Shen-nong: divine farmer• Huang-di: Yellow Lord; promoted families; bureaucracy, knowledge compendium, roads

Three sage kings2350 - 2200 B.C.E.

• Yao--superintended agriculture, astronomical observations

• Shun, raised from humble origins, virture recognized: reputation for maintaining harmony

• Yu, worthy minister; mastered rivers– Progenitor of the Xia dynasty

Dong Zhongshu

• Synthesizer of Daoism, yin/yang, and Confucianism

• Ideas on rulership: link• Maps link

Three brothers, three kingdoms

• Liu Bei• Zhang Fei• Guan Di

• Zhuge Liang

• Cao Cao

“The Red Cliff” Wu Yuan-chih (fl. ca. 1190-1196), Qin Dynasty Handscroll, ink on paper, 50.8 x 136.4 cm. National Palace Museum, Taiwan

Link to enlargement

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Japanese fukusa late

19th c.)

Source: Victoria and Albert Museum (http://www.vam.ac.uk)