Zhao's Orphan: Chinese-English Parallel Text

Author: Ji Junxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhao Dun, a minister of the State of Jin, repeatedly advised the tyrannical and licentious King Linggong of Jin. He came into fierce conflict with the king and the corrupt minister Tu Anji. Tu Anji plotted to assassinate Zhao Dun and incited the king to issue an edict, ordering the execution of over 300 members of the Zhao family. He also forged an edict, forcing the prince-in-law Zhao Shuo to commit suicide. To eradicate the Zhao family completely, Tu Anji imprisoned the pregnant princess in the palace, intending to abduct and kill the child upon its birth.
As a hereditary physician, Cheng Ying entered the palace under the guise of treating the princess. He bravely accepted the responsibility of raising the orphaned child and smuggled the infant out in his medicine chest, hiding him in his own home. However, Tu Anji was exceptionally cruel and ordered the execution of all infants under six months old within the borders of Jin.
To save the infants of Jin and the Zhao orphan, Cheng Ying resolutely decided to sacrifice his own newborn son. Enduring humiliation and hardship for twenty years, he finally raised the Zhao orphan until adulthood. Later, with the support of King Dao of Jin, the Zhao orphan avenged his family by executing Tu Anji, avenging the deep-seated blood feud.