9th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
There’s a raft of stories of Chinese jesters taking a pot-shot at religion and its preachers, though they were scrupulously even-handed in their scoffing. A jester to the Tang dynasty Emperor Yizong 唐懿宗 (r. 859-73), Li Keji 李可及 (Attainable or Surpassable Li),...
9th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
At a banquet given during the Taihe reign period (827-35) of Emperor Tang Wenzong 唐文宗 (r. 827-40), a jester mocked Confucius in a variety show performance. The emperor was angered by his irreverence, saying that Confucius had been a teacher from ancient times to the...
9th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
An example of Chinese jesters being silenced for offering to present a skit mocking a minister, in this case their punishment being more than a simple cancel-culture denial of performance, as they were beaten and banished. Noteworthy is the fact that they were so...
10th century, bibliography, canon, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
Ouyang Xiu’s 歐陽脩 (1007-72) ‘Lingguan zhuan’ 伶官傳 (Biographies of Jesters) in the New History of the Five Dynasties is a key primary source for Chinese accounts of jesters at the court of Tang Zhuangzong 後唐莊宗 (r. 923-26), with particular emphasis on...
10th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
An early example of reductio ad absurdum approach to changing the ruler’s mind. Rather than having a head-on confrontation with unreasonable behaviour, the jester instead agrees wholeheartedly, taking the whole thing to such a logical but extreme degree that...
9th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
Two common features of the jester come together in this anecdote: resilience and quick wittedness. The emperor’s idea of a joke, giving his jester a dunking underwater, is a bit schoolboy-bullyish, but the jester reacts so cheerily and cleverly that he wins...
10th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
Generally speaking, jesters enjoyed a widely recognised licence which included the latitude to be irreverent. However, they were dealing with very powerful individuals and sometimes their barbs or mockery would hit home too hard and they would find themselves...
8th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
The Chinese jester Huang Fanchuo (黃幡綽 In Full Streamer Huang) is mentioned in a musicological work, the Tang dynasty Jie Drum Record (羯鼓錄), for having stunned the emperor, Tang Xuanzong 唐玄宗 (r. 713-56), with his ability to guess the emperor’s mood from his...
