On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c4.s2.8

v1.c4.s2.8

We have to come down to the end of the third century B. C. before we find a Ch‘ên of historical celebrity. We then meet with the famous Ch‘ên P‘ing (陳平) a native of Yang-wu (陽武) in the present Prefecture of K‘ai-fêng (開封) of Honan. In the time of the Han dynasty this Prefecture bore the name Ch‘ên-liu (陳留) and this explains why Yuan-chuang is sometimes described as a Ch‘ên-liu man. His ancestor P‘ing was an eccentric genius who, rising from extreme poverty to wealth and power, founded a great family and made himself immortal in history. His success in life and his posthumous fame were mainly due to his ready wit which never left him without an answer, and to his ingenuity in devising expedients in desperate circumstances. Of these expedients six were counted extraordinary and successful above the others, and hence came the saying in his time liu-ch‘u-ch‘i-chi (六出奇計) that is, “six times he brought out extraordinary plans”. These were all employed on behalf of Liu Pang, the Han Kao Tsu of history. They were stratagems or expedients devised to meet special occasions, they were kept very secret and were all successful.