Introduction

To understand a country is to understand its people. And to understand China, you have to look at its history, a huge and daunting topic. Thousands of years, dynasty after dynasty, hundreds of emperors and politicians…

In this series, we will take you on a tour through the long history of China to discover the movers and shakers — from ancient emperors who may just be legend to the men and women who penned poems thousands of years ago that are still recited by children today, from the Buddhist monk who provided the inspiration to the epic novel “Journey to the West” to the persons who shaped China’s modern education system. Written by Zhang Ciyun, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Shanghai Daily, this series recalls the life story of 88 important figures, who left their personal marks in philosophy, art and literature, religion, science and technology and political movements.