Lin Xiangru

Lin Xiangru (Lìn XiāngRú, 蔺相如) was a politician of the Warring States Period, who served the state of Zhao. He figures prominently in two stories of the period, namely the episode of "Returning the Jade to Zhao", as well as the story of "Carrying Thorned Grass and Pleading Guilt".

Lin Xiangru was born sometime in the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, and due to his intellect and superior skills he rose quickly through the ranks of the Zhao bureaucracy. So when emissaries from the King of Qin came over to the Zhao court, demanding the He Shi Bi, a priceless jade artifact, for tribute, Lin was already established in the Zhao court. He understood that King Xiaowen of Zhao did not wish to have such a priceless artifact slip away from his hands; and so he volunteered to go to the Qin court in order to persuade the king not to do such a thing.

When at the Qin court, Lin was offered 15 cities in exchange for the He Shi Bi; however on closer inspection many of these cities were worthless and could easily be taken back by the Qin juggernaught. Therefore his resolve not to give the jade to Qin became even stronger. Stating that there was a tiny flaw in the jade, Lin Xiangru snatched it back and threatened to break both the jade and his bones if the Qin tried to take it back by force. The Qin king, unwilling to see such a thing ruined by his actions, relented and let Lin return to Zhao with the jade. However, Lin knew what the Qin king was intending to do and thus slipped secretly away while at a banquet and returned to Zhao quickly.

The incident made Lin Xiangru famous throughout the Warring States as the man who had shamed the Qin king. His status rose and soon he was chief minister of Zhao. However many people were jealous of his success, notably the old general Lian Po; one of the most experienced commanders during that time. He was so jealous that he swore enmity between the two of them.

When Lin had caught wind of this, he decided that the best way to deal with the problem is not to confront Lian at all. When Lian's carriage was going down the street, Lin's carriage, although normally had the right of passage, turned and backed out of the street in order to let Lian Po pass.

Many saw it as a sign of weakness, not least Lian Po himself, who reckoned that Lin, an academic, was too scared to fight such a warrior as he. Lin's courtiers, too, grew dissatisfied by the subservient way Lin was behaving; many left. But when Lin's chief courtier demanded to know why he was behaving in such a manner, Lin Xiangru replied:"The feud between me and Lian Po is a personal one; but I am in charge of the nation's government, and he the nation's security: I cannot let my personal life ruin that of the kingdom!"

When Lian Po finally heard of this, all his hatred turned into shame. Deciding to apologize to Lin, he strapped brambles to his bare back and walked from his house to that of Lin Xiangru's, begging for his forgiveness. Lin Xiangru forgave him, and from then on, they became good friends.

When Lian Po was on the verge of being replaced as overall commander in the Battle of Changping by the much younger and much more inexperienced Zhao Kuo, Lin Xiangru begged King Xiaowen to reconsider the move. But his advice was not heeded, and disaster followed.

Lin Xiangru died probably in the years between Changping and the annexation of Zhao by Qin.