The youth of Western lands know very little of the great land of China,
with its long history reaching far back into the dim past. How little
is known of the fierce, stupendous struggles in the long ago, when
China was not one country but was composed of many small kingdoms whose
people were constantly fighting with each other for supremacy.
It was in those early days that were born China’s heroes who have been
remembered ever since in song and story. To the Chinese but little
stage setting is necessary for their national heroes. In their
theatrical plays their imaginations fill in, with the help of mere
suggestions, all that is needed to make their surroundings very real to
them.
One of China’s greatest heroes was Han Hsin. He lived in the kingdom of
Chin, very many centuries ago. When he was a small boy he showed
remarkable wisdom, and, although he was very small of stature, his
teachers predicted a great future for him.
One day, when Han was only six years old, he and another little boy
were playing ball, when the ball came down into the deep hole of the
millstones. They could not get it out at first and the other lad wanted
to call for help. Little Han Hsin said, “No, I will think of a plan.”
Finding a long stick, he began filling the hole with earth. As he
poured the earth into the hole, he kept stirring the ball around,
thereby keeping it on top of the earth until he could reach it with his
hand.
Another time he saw a woman, in rage, jump into a large earthen
water-barrel. He was not strong enough to draw her out, and no one was
near, so he found a stone and beat with all his strength on the barrel
until he made a hole in it near the bottom, and the water running out,
the life of the woman was saved. Many such stories, and more wonderful
ones, were told of him, and his fame spread all over the kingdom.
In those days every prince had a wise man, or a group of wise men,
about him to give him advice regarding the affairs of his kingdom. Han
Hsin was presented to his Prince by his teachers as worthy of holding
such a position, but when the Prince and his officers saw how small he
was, they laughed and said, “We do not want a child,” and would not
accept his services.
Han Hsin then went and presented himself at the court of the Prince of
Chin Chou. Now, this Prince, Chin Pa, was noted for his strength. It
was said of him that, if he tried, he could breathe the roof off the
house; also that he could lift himself up by the hair. When he was
small he was fed on the milk of the tiger. Thus his strength was not
the strength of man.
When Han Hsin was presented to this Prince by his teachers as a wise
man and one who could help him make his country strong, he laughed and
said, “What can such a boy do? If I hold out my head and tell him to
cut it off he has not the strength to do it, even though I stand still
and do not resist him. How can there be wisdom in such a small boy? How
can such as he help me? He cannot fight for me or wait on me. Take away
the child, I do not want him.”
The teachers urged the Prince to give the young man a trial and at last
he said, “Here is my spear—let him hold it up straight for half a day.
If he is strong enough for that, he may find something to do in my
service.” Alas! Han Hsin could not even for half an hour hold up the
great iron spear, and he was driven with laughter and derision from the
court.
When the teachers remonstrated with the Prince he said, “I want no such
weakling in my kingdom.”
“But you have made an enemy of him,” they urged, “and if you do not use
him, you should kill him. Although you, our Prince, will not believe
us, we know if you let him go he will, in the end, be used by some
other kingdom to destroy yours.” At this Chin Pa laughed loud and long,
but seeing the anxious and serious faces of the teachers he said, “I
will take some soldiers and go after him, and if you wish I will kill
him.”
Now when Han Hsin, in bitterness of heart, was driven from the court he
took the road leading to the mountains, and was part way up when,
chancing to look back, he saw the mounted band coming. They did not see
him, but he knew that they were in search of him. He knew that he could
not escape, so he stretched himself out on the side of the hill with
his feet toward the top and his head toward the bottom of the hill, and
pretended that he was asleep.
When Chin Pa came up and saw him there he smiled to himself and called
to his men to remount, and away they went back to the castle, laughing
and making merry over the thought that any one who would sleep in such
a position, could rend the kingdom away from their great Prince.
When the teachers heard of the outcome of the pursuit of Han Hsin they
were troubled and said, “It is craft and not stupidity—go back again,
overtake him and kill him.” To please them and for the sport of it, the
Prince started out again. By this time Han Hsin had crossed the
mountains and was walking on the plain. Again he saw them coming, and
looking about he discovered a very ill-smelling hole, and bending over
it he exclaimed, as his pursuers came up, “Ah, how sweet, how
fragrant!”
This time the Prince declared that Han Hsin was entirely foolish, and
he would not kill a fool, for a man who did not know the difference
between the sweetly fragrant and the offensive was not one a Prince
need fear.
Thus Han Hsin was left to himself, and returned to his own country and
village. His own Prince, Han Kao Lin, again refused him. At that time
this Prince was at war with Chin Pa and was very hard pressed by the
latter, and anxious to surround himself with wise men. He could not
see, however, how there could be wisdom in such a small man as Han
Hsin. But, at last, after much persuasion, he gave a reluctant
permission for him to be made leader of the army which was about to set
out to attack Chin Pa.
Old pictures show Han Hsin seated on a throne and worshipped by the
military men and soldiers under him. They believed that he was to lead
them to victory and save their country. It is said that he knew every
soldier, and could tell at a glance how many there were in a company
passing before him and who were absent from the ranks. He was one of
the greatest military leaders, if not the greatest, in Chinese history.
One time, when engaged in war with the Kingdom of Chao, he drove the
enemy to the bank of a river, but they got over in their own boats and
destroyed them on the other side. Feeling secure in the thought that
the army under Han Hsin could not cross that night, they made a camp
and had a feast. But Han Hsin was not an ordinary man and he commanded
every man to get a board of some kind and in the darkness to swim
across quietly. This they did, and fell upon the merry camp and won a
great victory.
Another time Han Hsin insisted on camping on the shore of the great
river. His officers and men protested, and said that he was not leaving
any path for retreat in case of defeat, as they had no ships or bridges
and few could swim so far. All the comfort they could get was his
reply, “When defeat comes we will discuss the question.” The enemy were
seen coming upon them from the front, and then Han Hsin called to his
men to fight for their lives, for death was certainly behind them in
the river, but, if they fought bravely, they could defeat the enemy in
front. This they did with great slaughter.
At another time, when fighting with the great Chin Pa, of the Kingdom
of Chin, the latter shut up all but one of the roads over the mountains
and awaited Han Hsin in ambuscade in a very narrow place, the only one
where it seemed possible for him to get over the mountains. He did not
even then know the military master that he had to deal with in Han
Hsin, as it was still early in the war. Han Hsin sent out his spies,
disguised as countrymen, and learned the condition of things. So,
calling up his men to make a lot of bags, even turning their clothes
into bags, his army set out.
On reaching the steepest place in ascending the mountains, he commanded
the army to halt and fill the bags with earth. This place was not
guarded, as it was supposed to be impossible of ascent. During the
night, however, Han Hsin ordered an advance, and, using the bags to
make a series of steps, his army went quickly up and over to the other
side, to the rear of Chin Pa’s army. Here Han Hsin attacked the enemy
in force and easily put them to flight. Later they recovered themselves
and in many battles afterward between these two great generals neither
could obtain any great advantage.
Now Han Hsin had a friend and helper in Chang Lang, a literary man who
was wise and safe to trust, and who often helped him in his plans. They
talked over the situation, and Chang Lang said that the strength of
Chin Pa was in a company of three thousand soldiers who were all
related to each other, and whose officers were also of the same clan.
In some way that company must be disbanded or Han Hsin never would win
the final victory. Many plans were formed, but the soldiers of the clan
seemed to possess charmed lives.
At last Chang Lang came one night to the tent of Han Hsin and said, “I
have found a way, and, as there is a fine wind and it is on the eve of
a battle, I will try my new scheme.” He then produced a large kite, the
first ever made, and disclosed his plan. All these years Han Hsin had
remembered how Chin Pa had laughed at his small stature, but he was
that night to show him that, though small, he was formidable as an
enemy.
Some of his officers were called in and fastened him by ropes to the
kite and then let go. Gradually the kite ascended, and, in the
twilight, appeared high over the camp of the three thousand soldiers.
They were filled with terror, for never before had such a thing been
seen or heard of. It was dark enough to prevent them from seeing Han
Hsin at the height and distance he was from them. The kite came to rest
for a few moments, and they heard a voice say, “You all have old and
young in your homes. Why do you not go home to them? If you stay on,
you will some day all be killed; then who will worship at the grave of
your fathers and hand down the name?”
The men said, “It is a voice of a god, a warning, let us depart at
once,” and that night they left the camp.
The battle the next day was terrific, but in the end Han Hsin won a
great victory. When urged to kill his old enemy he said, “No, let him
go, for he will kill himself, and that will be better.” So, Chin Pa was
set at liberty and started with his army to return south. The battle
had been near a river and Han Hsin knew that Chin Pa must cross it on
his retreat. So, before the battle was fought, Han Hsin had written, in
honey, on a big stone slab near the ford, these four words, “Heaven
Destroy Hsiang Yi.” The last two words were Chin Pa’s name. A swarm of
ants scenting the honey crawled up to eat it, and thus outlined the
characters very distinctly.
When Chin Pa came over the river and saw the stone with the four large
characters he said, “Woe is me, even the worms and ants know that
Heaven has deserted me. I will kill myself.” And then and there, almost
in sight of his enemy, the man he had regarded with contempt, he killed
himself.
Thus ended a strife of nearly twenty years between two kingdoms, and
Han Hsin came to be the Prince of his kingdom. Often during the time of
kite-flying in China, away in the heavens one sees a kite in the shape
of an old-time warrior, and few of the many beautiful and fancy kites
to be seen have such an interesting story. The kite has come to be, in
Western lands, merely an amusement, but in China, where it was probably
invented, it ever carries with the sport the message, “Strength of mind
is greater than strength of body.”