From ridiculed and bullied to 'God of War' #HanXin #LegendaryHeroes

Sun Tzu said, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. This is coming from The Art of War, a military strategy book that was written 2,500 years ago. This is a book that has such fundamental principles. We see it used in sports, we see it used in business, we see this even used in the U.S. military as required reading. What's really interesting is that this book wasn't actually translated to English until the 1900s. Meanwhile, for over 2,000 years, it held immense importance in China. And there was one person, a household named, the Chinese people who is said to have mastered every principle of The Art of War. It is why at just 25 years old, he led armies of tens of thousands, never losing a single battle. His name, Han Xin. Hello everybody, welcome back. I watched 5,000 Years of Heroes, Han Xin. It's an 11-episode docudrama. You tell us to attack, then withdraw from the battle before finishing it? What is this? Maybe we should delay our attack on the state of Zhao. No. He is also the only person whom you can trust to achieve greatness. Fire! But I assure you that if we fight fearlessly, by noon we will have defeated the Zhao army. This is set in around 200 BC. And basically what's happening at this point is all of China is divided into these warring states and everybody's trying to be like the next emperor. We follow Han Xin's humble beginnings, from being bullied and ridiculed, to helping the king Liu Bang establish the Han dynasty. We witness how Liu Bang becomes jealous, ultimately claiming Han Xin's victories as his own, and the noble way in which Han Xin handled it. I really appreciated the style of this docudrama. It is true to historical record, so I got to learn about what really happened in history, as if I was watching a documentary, but through a movie like experience. There's like that documentary aspect that's more of like a narration, but then it goes into these like performance scenes where you really become immersed in the scene. The prime minister has arrived majesty. He requests an audience. I am occupied. He says it is an urgent matter. Can't a king have even one moment of peace and distractions for matter of state? I will send him away. No, it is urgent. I will see him, but he better have a good reason. The king Liu Bang ends up meeting Han Xin. And Han Xin at the time is a low ranking officer who Liu Bang doesn't want to have anything to do with. But Han Xin comes highly recommended. Although he has hardly a military track record, others can sense there is something very special about him. His name will go on to be forever remembered in history. Han Xin is the source of numerous idioms. Most Chinese people know Han Xin, or they know at least of his name. He is known for his high character and tolerance amidst difficult situations. Han Xin had a difficult upbringing. Both his parents died when he was young, and so it's said he had to rely on people in the town to feed him. Some people could see his heart and wanted to help him, but a lot of people also ridiculed him. In this series, we get to experience probably the most iconic story of Han Xin's youth. One day, a bully stopped him on his path. And he basically says like, if you want to get past me, you're either going to have to kill me, or you're going to have to crawl between my legs. You have a choice, worm. You may slice me with your sword, or you must crawl beneath my crotch. Decide. Han Xin knew that to kill the boy meant he would be a criminal, a murderer for all of his life. How embarrassing. All these guys his age are humiliating him, calling him a coward. And remember, Han Xin was already ridiculed. Well, this is now even worse. Think of the humiliation he must have felt at this moment. What's really interesting is that Han Xin actually meets the bully later on in life. Most people might think that he would be very revengeful toward him. He actually promoted the guy. Later on, after he achieves great military success, he is recorded to have commented on this event, calling the guy a hero. He said, this man is a hero. Do you think I could not have killed him when he humiliated me? I would not become famous if I killed him then. Hence, I endured the humiliation to preserve my life, to achieve great things in the future. Han Xin knew that this man, right, despite humiliating him, had contributed to his personal growth. This idiom in Chinese, humiliation between the legs, refers to a person who has a heart of great forbearance. So it was said that this heart of great forbearance and these character traits is why Han Xin could be so successful and be someone who at 25 years old never lost a battle. Sun Tzu writes, the commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. So it was way more than just military strategy. It had a lot to do with character, with loyalty, and these were values and characteristics that could bring someone to success. I agree. I may have the ability to seek hegemony, but there are things a noble man would Favorite episode is episode seven. Leo Bang starts to get very jealous of Han Xin, right? Han Xin is never losing a battle. He has such a good command of the military and think about it, right? Han Xin is 25 years old with hardly any military experience and Leo Bang is a seasoned veteran military commander. But the wild thing about this is Han Xin through each and every interaction is always incredibly loyal. Generals, the conflict at yin yang has become critical. The king has issued an order. General Guan, General Cao, you are to march your armies back to defend the city of yin yang. But we are preparing a battle here in the state of Zhao. How can we reduce our number of troops? Are there other instructions? Are we going to attack the This is very unusual. Leo Bang is not supposed to be guiding the troops. It's Han Xin who he elected to take on this role. But because Leo Bang is so jealous, he has ordered the troops away. And this is like an incredible moment. He's not going to disobey the king, but he's also going to make sure that his plan is carried out. He ends up recruiting like this army of like 30,000 soldiers. Most are new recruits. You've trained them day and night, but they're still new to the battlefield after all. Once the battle begins, they could panic and desert the field. Well, Han Xin, what he does is he actually uses a military strategy from the art of war. Sun Tzu says soldiers, when in desperate straits, lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. Han Xin has an army of 30,000 and they're coming and there's 200,000 strong. What does he do? He places them with their back to the river so that there's no retreat. This tactic was thought a cardinal sin among military strategists. This is madness. What commander would put his battle array when it's back to a river? There's no place to fall back, no routes to escape. This Han Xin has just lost his first battle. This tactic actually gives rise, another famous idiom, the battle with one's back facing the water, which is to describe when in a hopeless situation, men will fight ferociously to survive. Being trapped in a dangerous situation, one will fight to live. Being placed in a desperate place with nowhere to retreat, one will struggle to survive. Great, great series. I really recommend it. I really hope we can see more docudramas from this producer in the future. It really is such an incredible way to learn about some of these long forgotten heroes. This series is normally sold for $30, but it's offered exclusively on the GJW Plus platform as part of the streaming subscription. So if you want to see the whole series, use promo code RITA15 for 15% off an annual subscription. All right, everybody. Well, I hope you enjoyed learning about Han Xin and this series. Go check it out. The first episode is free. It really is really good. It was good to see you again, and I'll see you next time. Bye. The wheels of history roll ever onward. Every person plays a role which is unknown to him or her. As in a fog, the person can only be coerced to go forward.