Story of the Padded Robe
绨袍记
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According to Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji 史记, Biography of Fan Sui and Cai Ze), during the Warring States period, Fan Sui once served under Xu Jia, a senior official of the State of Wei. On a diplomatic mission to the State of Qi, Fan Sui received gifts from the King of Qi. Xu Jia, suspecting him of colluding with Qi, reported him to the Wei chancellor. Fan Sui was brutally beaten and nearly killed. He feigned death and escaped to the State of Qin.
There, he successfully persuaded King Zhaoxiang of Qin of his political vision and was appointed as Chancellor, receiving the noble title ‘Marquess of Ying’.
Wei believed Fan Sui to be long dead. When Qin later was going to launch a military campaign against Wei, Xu Jia was sent to Qin as an envoy to negotiate peace. Fan Sui, upon learning this, disguised himself in rags and visited Xu Jia in secret. Xu Jia was shocked to recognise him and asked whether Fan Sui had gained favour in Qin. Fan Sui denied it, claiming he was merely a destitute servant making ends meet. Moved by pity, Xu Jia shared a meal with him and gave him a padded robe out of kindness.
When Xu Jia later discovered that Fan Sui was, in fact, Qin’s powerful Chancellor, he rushed to apologise. Fan Sui spared him, saying: ‘The only reason you are not executed is because of that robe you gave me — it showed a trace of old friendship.’ He then allowed Xu Jia to return to Wei unharmed.
image identification and story scene description by Dr Yibin Ni
Similar Figural Story Scenes for Differentiation:
Fig 1: porcelain brush holder with underglaze blue decoration, 1637, courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing