King was originally the title for the “Son of Heaven,” namely, the country’s supreme ruler in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. From the Spring and Autumn Period onward, the power of the Zhou court gradually weakened and the kingdom disintegrated. By the time of the Warring States Period, any monarch could call himself a king. Up to the Qin and …

In the literal sense, the Chinese character nian (年) means the ripening of crops. As crops are mostly harvested annually, the Chinese character nian has gradually come to refer to the period of one year, and later it is used to refer to the annual Spring Festival. When it comes to the calendar, it refers to the period of one year on the lunar calen…

To fight or not to fight is one’s own decision, not the enemy’s. This is a principle of military operations proposed by ancient Chinese. “Not to engage the enemy” does not mean passively avoiding confrontation, but means to avoid direct confrontation when the situation favors the enemy. One should not rush or be forced into confrontation just to…

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