Empress of Zhào (Zhào tàihòu 赵太后) = monarch of a beseiged state
Cháng’ān jūn 长安君 = the Lord of Cháng’ān, her little son
Chùlóng 触龙 = a courtier
Towards the end of the Warring States Period (period 04e), the state of Qín 秦 laid siege to the state of Zhào 赵. Zhào was governed by the Empress of Zhào (Zhào tàihòu 赵太后), who appealed to the state of Qí 齐 for assistance. Qí was willing to help only on condition that the Empress send her beloved son, the Lord of Cháng’ān (Cháng’ān jūn 长安君) to Qí as a hostage.
The Lord of Cháng’ān was the apple of his mother’s eye, and the empress refused to be separated from him, despite intense pleading from her court. Finally she simply forbade all further discussion of the matter.
A wily Director of Studies (zuǒshī 左师) at the palace named Chùlóng 触龙 managed to receive an audience with the Empress and, after some polite small talk, asked that his little son be granted a position as a palace guard (wèishì 卫士). The Empress was willing to grant his request, but was puzzled because the lad was only 15 years old. Chùlóng explained that his health was not good and that he wanted to see to his son’s welfare before anything untoward happened.
The Empress observed that such solicitude for a child was unusual in men. Not so, replied Chùlóng. Indeed he opined that men planned more for their children than women did. And he teased her that she actually had been more mindful of her daughter’s future than of her son’s. Her daughter, Chùlóng pointed out, was now the queen of the kingdom of Yān 燕 and would bring glory to Zhào by being the mother of the future kings of Yān. But her son, the Lord of Cháng’ān, was merely a pampered princeling with no chance to bring glory to Zhào.
The Empress was persuaded, and immediately commanded Chùlóng to see to the transfer of her son to Qí to serve as a hostage. As soon as he arrived, Qí made good on its promise, and the joint troops of Qí and Zhào were able to break the Qín siege and save Zhào.