(14th Century painting of Mongol cavalrymen by Sayf al-Vâhidî, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)
Lu
Wan hailed from the village of Feng, in the region of Peixian (modern
Jiangsu province), near the eastern end of central China. Lu Wan’s
father was a close friend of the so-called Venerable Sire—the name given
to the father of Emperor Gaozu, the founder of the Han Dynasty. The
friendship between the two fathers passed on to their sons, with Gaozu
and Lu Wan becoming inseparable friends. Legend even claimed that the
two boys were born on the same day, something that the villagers thought
was significant.
Although
Gaozu (known then as Liu Bang) was destined to become an emperor and Lu
Wan a nobleman, the two began their lives as peasants. The friends
began their upward mobility during the reign of the Qin Dynasty (222-206
BCE). The pair studied together and Gaozu succeeded in qualifying for a
position as a village official. Lu Wan presumably did not fair as well
as his friend in the examination, for he did not seem to receive a local
government post and he instead followed Gaozu wherever the future
emperor went. Gaozu eventually moved to Pei, where he married the
daughter of Master Lü, a friend of the region’s magistrate. It was there
that Gaozu and Lu Wan would begin their great rise to power.
Continue reading about the interesting life of Lu Wan, HERE.
No comments :
Post a Comment