Zhao's Orphan (Chinese-English Parallel Text)

Author: Ji Junxiang (Yuan Dynasty)
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 clashed violently with the king and the corrupt minister Tu An. Tu An conspired to assassinate Zhao Dun and incited the king to issue an edict to execute over 300 members of the Zhao family. He also forged an order forcing the prince-in-law, Zhao Shuo, to commit suicide. To eradicate the Zhao family completely, Tu An imprisoned the pregnant princess in the palace, planning to abduct and kill the child upon its birth.
A hereditary physician named Cheng Yin entered the palace under the guise of treating the princess. He bravely accepted the responsibility of raising the orphan and secretly took the child out in his medical chest, hiding him in his own home. However, Tu An was exceptionally cruel and ordered the execution of all infants under six months old in the State of Jin. To save the children of Jin and the Zhao orphan, Cheng Yin resolutely decided to sacrifice his own newborn son.
Enduring humiliation and hardship for twenty years, Cheng Yin finally raised the Zhao orphan until he came of age. Later, with the support of King Dao of Jin, the Zhao orphan avenged his family by executing Tu An, avenging the deep-seated blood feud.