Han Festival Is Not Broken, Su Wu

Su Wu (140 BC - 60 BC), courtesy name Ziqing, was born in Duling, Jingzhao, Western Han Dynasty. He was a famous diplomat in the Western Han Dynasty and a patriotic national hero praised through the ages. He was born as a general, and his father Su Jian was a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty. Su Wu relied on his father's influence to enter the court and became an official in his early years, and served successively as Lang Guan, Zhizhong Stable Supervisor and other positions. In the first year of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Su Wu served as Zhonglang General as an envoy to the Xiongnu to ease the relationship between Han and Xiongnu. Unexpectedly, the mission was involved in the civil strife of the Xiongnu, and Su Wu was implicated and detained. The Xiongnu Chanyu repeatedly used high-ranking officials and generous salaries, and used torture and desperate threats to force the rebels to surrender. Su Wu always preferred death to surrender and insisted on his integrity. He was then exiled to the bitterly cold Beihai (today's Lake Baikal) to herd sheep, and was told that the ram could only return to the Han after the ram gave birth to a baby. For nineteen years, he lived in the wind and snow, suffered from hunger and cold, and always held the Han Festival tightly. All the ox hair on his staff fell off, but he never abandoned his home and country. During the period of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the Han and Hungarians made peace, and Su Wu finally returned to the court. After nineteen years of hardships, Su Wu remained true to his original aspiration, stayed true to his integrity, and fulfilled his mission. His story of Su Wu shepherding sheep has been passed down through the ages and has become a spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation's integrity and loyalty to the country.