7th century BCE, Chinese, historical figure, quotes
Sima Qian 司馬遷 (c. 145-86 BC) seems to have been the first historian to speak of the jester’s role, including the key characteristic of using their freedom and humour to offer advice or criticism. For example, he describes the jester You Meng 優孟 (Jester Meng)...
3rd century BCE, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, Qin dynasty, quotes, stories
Sima Qian’s 司馬遷 (c. 145-86 BCE) `Biographies of the Jesters’, written around 100 BCE, is a rich source of examples of jesters intervening in indirect ways to change the behaviour or plans of the king or emperor. Often using the reductio ad absurdum...
3rd century BCE, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, Qin dynasty, quotes, stories
When Er Shi Huangdi 二世皇帝 (r. 209-207 BCE), the second (and last) emperor of the Qin dynasty, came to the throne, he decided to lacquer the Great Wall. The dwarf jester You Zhan 優旃 (Jester Twisty Pole) used the reductio ad absurdum technique to dissuade him. This is...
4th century BCE, biography, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure
Chunyu Kun 淳于髡 (‘Baldy Chunyu’) is one the jesters included in Sima Qian’s (145-c. 86 b.c.) ‘Accounts of Jesters’ in the Historical Records. He served at the court of Weiwang of Qi (c. 356-319 BCE) and used wit and other forms of...
2nd century BCE, bibliography, book, canon, China, Chinese, East Asia, Han dynasty, historical figure, primary source, Qin dynasty
There are a hundred ways to kick off a canon*, and one on fools and jesters could trigger as much argument about what should be included as any other body of essential works on a given topic. One advantage of slow-mo online accretion is that it is never final and so...
3rd century BCE, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, Qin dynasty, quotes, stories
One class of jester anecdotes concerns their intervening on behalf of others, cajoling or otherwise eliciting random acts of forebearance or thoughtfulness by people often in positions of absolute power.The First Emperor of the Qin (Qin Shi Huangdi, r. 246-210 BC),...
2nd century BCE, China, Chinese, East Asia, Han dynasty, primary source, quotes
Sima Qian (c. 145-86 BC), the Herodotus of China, testifies as to the potential for a joke or a clever turn of phrase to unravel knotty problems. This is from his biographies of jesters, the first and perhaps foremost source of classical Chinese references to jesters...
