Pearl S. Buck (Nobel Prize-winning writer)
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, most familiarly known as Pearl S. Buck (birth name Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker; Chinese Pinyin: Sài Zhēnzhū) (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973), was a prolific American writer and Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia to Caroline (Stulting; 1857-1921) and Absalom Sydenstricker (1852-1931), a Southern Presbyterian missionary. The family was sent to Zhenjiang in 1892 when Pearl was three months old. She was raised in China and learned the Chinese language and customs from a teacher named Mr. Kung. She was taught English as a second language by her mother and tutor. She was encouraged to write things at an early age.

Marco Polo (Adventurer/Explorer)
Marco Polo was an Italian explorer of the late 13th and early 14th centuries, and one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia. He visited the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of China, and became a government official in China.

As a teenager, Marco Polo traveled to China (then known as Cathay) with his father and uncle. The trio spent 20 years at the court of Kublai Khan -- this at a time when few Europeans had ever visited that country. Polo eventually returned to Venice and collected the stories of his travels into a book, Il Milione (also known as The Travels of Marco Polo), which was widely read and is the basis of his lasting fame. Polo is now remembered as the man who introduced Europeans to the Orient, and his name is synonymous with exotic travel.

Qianlong Emperor (an ideal Confucian ruler during the height of the last dynasty, the Qing)
The Qianlong Emperor (September 25, 1711 – February 7, 1799) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from October 18, 1735 to February 9, 1796, at which point he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor - a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuity of an era of prosperity in China, he was unrelenting of conservative and Sinocentric attitudes. As a result, the Qing Dynasty's decline began later in his reign.

Liu Bei
Liu Bei (pinyin: Liú Bèi) (161 – 223 AD), Chinese style name Xuándé, was a powerful warlord and the founding emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era of China. Having risen up from the commoner class, he was initially a small player in the massive civil war leading up to the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 214, using the stratagems of his chief advisor, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei conquered Yizhou (present day Sichuan and Guizhou) and at last established the foundation for Shu Han. In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in an effort to carry on the lineage of the Han Dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Liu Shan, who eventually surrendered to the Kingdom of Wei in 263.

In the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Liu Bei was portrayed as a virtuous and charismatic man who rose from a humble straw-weaver to an emperor. His many experiences were dramatized or exaggerated by the author to advocate the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. However, it is this novelized character of Liu Bei that had become much more commonly known in Chinese folklore, Chinese opera and other art forms.

Zheng He
Zheng He (1371–1433), was a Chinese mariner of Semu/Khwarezmian descent, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of "Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean" or "Zheng He to the Western Ocean", from 1405 to 1433 .

He first set sail in 1405 and on this mission visited Champa (southern Vietnam), Siam (Thailand), Malacca, and Java, traveled through the Indian Ocean as far as Sri Lanka, and returned to China in 1407. Subsequent voyages took him to Arabia, the eastern coast of Africa, Southeast Asia, and India. Chinese emigration to, and influence in, Southeast Asia increased in the wake of these missions, resulting in tributary trade to China that lasted into the 19th century.

Emperor Wu of Song
Emperor Wu of Liu Song (363-422), personal name Liu Yu, courtesy name Dexing, nickname Jinu, was the founding emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He came from a humble background, but became prominent after leading a rebellion in 404 to overthrow Huan Xuan, who had usurped the Jin throne in 403. After that point, using a mixture of political and military skills, Liu Yu gradually concentrated power in his own hands while expanding Jin's territory. In 420, he forced Emperor Gong of Jin to yield the throne to him, thus ending Jin and establishing Song. He ruled only briefly, for two years, before dying and passing the throne to his son, Emperor Shao of Liu Song.

Liu Yu was born in 363, to his father Liu Qiao and mother Zhao Anzong, while they were living at Jingkou (in modern Zhenjiang). His great grandfather Liu Hun was originally from Pengcheng (in modern Xuzhou), before moving to Jingkou. Liu Qiao was said to be a 20th generation descendant of Han Dynasty's Prince of Chu, Liu Jiao, a younger brother of Han's founder Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Xiang Yu 
(Born 232 BC, state of Chu, China — died 202 BC). Chinese aristocratic general and cultural hero. He overthrew the Qin dynasty and tried to return China to a pre-Qin ruling system. His forces were overwhelmed by Liu Bang (Gaozu), founder of the Han dynasty, and Xiang Yu chose suicide over capture. His heroism has been glorified in Chinese stories and poetry. He is commonly known by his self-styled title of Xīchǔ Bàwáng (Overlord of Western Chu).

Han Xin
Han Xin was a very famous general living in the second century BC when China's first empire, Qin was on the verge of collapsing in face of peasant uprisings. Han Xin, a general in the troops of a main rebel force, contributed to the eventual establishment of the Han Dynasty.

Han was regarded as one of the greatest generals in Chinese history (if not the best), often used as the example by which future generations praised their own generals. His strategies were required studies for all aspiring generals.

Han is also regarded by some as the "Alexander the Great of the East.” He was never defeated, and he basically took over all of China while Liu Bang's main force was bogging Xiang Yu down.

Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu (active 400-320 BC), Chinese general, military theorist, and philosopher. Author of the world's first and potentially most long-lived work of military theory: The Art of War, also known as The Thirteen Chapters. In the 1980s, The Art of War was adopted by Tokyo, Wall Street, and London as a text for students of business strategy, and became fashionable dinner-party conversation for the so-called ‘yuppies’ of the time.

Wu Cheng'en
Wu Cheng'en (1500–1582), courtesy name Ruzhong, was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty. He was born in Huainan, Jiangsu. He studied in ancient Nanjing University for more than 10 years.

His most famous novel is Journey to the West in which a monk encounters the Flaming Mountains. The novel has been enjoyed by many generations of Chinese and is the most popular Chinese classic folk novel. The most famous English translation of the novel is by Arthur Waley and entitled Monkey.

Shen Kuo
Shen Kuo or Shen Kua (1031–1095) was a polymath Chinese scientist and statesman of the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Excelling in many fields of study and statecraft, he was a mathematician, astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, zoologist, botanist, pharmacologist, agronomist, ethnographer, encyclopedist, poet, general, diplomat, hydraulic engineer, inventor, academy chancellor, finance minister, and governmental state inspector. He was the head official for the Bureau of Astronomy in the Song court, as well as an Assistant Minister of Imperial Hospitality. At court, his political allegiance was to the Reformist party of the New Policies Group, headed by Chancellor Wang Anshi (1021–1086).

In his Dream Pool Essays (Mengxi Bitan) of 1088, Shen was the first to describe the magnetic needle compass, which would be used for navigation (first described in Europe by Alexander Neckam in 1187). Kuo also discovered the concept of true north in terms of magnetic declination towards the north pole, with experimentation of suspended magnetic needles and “the improved meridian determined by Shen’s [astronomical] measurement of the distance between the polestar and true north.” This was the decisive step in human history to make compasses more useful for navigation, and was a concept unknown in Europe for another 400 years.

Hau Pei tsun
Hau Pei-tsun was Premier of the Republic of China from May 30, 1990 to February 10, 1993 and a 4-star general in the ROC Army.

Born to a well-to-do family in Yancheng county, Jiangsu, Hau received a military education from the Chinese Military Academy, Chinese Army University, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the War College, Armed Forces University. Hau was appointed an artillery officer in 1938, and served in the Chinese expeditionary forces in India during World War II. In the subsequent Chinese Civil War he was a staff officer.

Mei Lanfang
Méi Lánfāng (October 22,1894 - August 8,1961) was one of the most famous Beijing or Peking opera artists in modern history, exclusively known for his qingyi roles, a type of dan role. Méi Lánfāng is his stage name, and in Chinese it is generally considered a feminine name. His real name is Méi Lán.

Méi was born in 1894 into a family of Beijing Opera and Kūnqǔ performers. He made his stage debut at the Guanghe Theatre in 1904 when he was 10 years old. In his 50-year stage career, he maintained strong continuity while always working on new techniques. His most famous roles were those of female characters; skillful portrayal of women won him international acclaim, and his smooth, perfectly timed, poised style has come to be known in opera circles as the “Méi School.” He also played an important part in continuing the performance tradition of Kūnqǔ, noted particularly for his interpretations of Dù Lìniáng (in The Peony Pavilion) and Bái Sùzhēn (in Léifēng Temple).

Zheng Banqiao
Zheng Banqiao (pinyin: Zhèng Bǎnqiáo), was a painter from Jiangsu. He began life in poverty, but rose in the exam system to become a magistrate at Shandong. However after 12 years he became critical of the life of an official, he reportedly was criticized for building a shelter for the poor, and resigned. After that he expressed himself in art and became one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. He was noted for his drawing of orchids, bamboo, and stones. In 1748, he briefly resumed an official career as "official calligrapher and painter" for the Qianlong emperor, but was fired in 1753 following a corruption charge.

He was also a calligrapher who created a new calligraphy style influenced by his orchid drawings. Additionally, he had an interest in literature and poetry. He preferred to write about ordinary people in a natural style.

Xu Xiake
Xu Xiake (pinyin: Xú Xiákè; January 5, 1587—March 8, 1641), courtesy name Zhenzhi, was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively (which would be compiled posthumously into the The Travel Diaries Xu Xiake, and his work translated by Ding Wenjiang). Xu's writing falls under the old Chinese literary category of 'travel record literature', which used narrative and prose styles of writing to portray one's travel experiences.

Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou
Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou (pinyin: Ba Guai or "Eight weird") is the name for a group of eight Chinese painters known in the Qing for rejecting the orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individualist.
The term was also used because they each had strong personalities at variance with the conventions of their own time. Most of them were from impoverished or troubled backgrounds. Still the term is, generally, more a statement about their style rather than being a judgment of them as personally being among history's noted eccentrics. The eight had an influence and association with painters like Gao Fenghan, as well as several others.

Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader often referred to as the "father of modern China.” Sun played an instrumental role in the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 and later co-founded the Kuomintang (KMT), where he served as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered in both Mainland China and in Taiwan.

Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution, he quickly fell out of power in the newly-founded Republic of China, and led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the warlords who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party bring about consolidation of power over the country. His party, which formed a fragile alliance with the Communists, split into two factions after his death. Sun's chief legacy resides in his developing a political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People (nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood/welfare).

Chiang Kai-shek (Military leader/political figure / World War II figure)
Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) was one of the most important political leaders in 20th century Chinese history, sandwiched between Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong. Early in the 20th century Chiang Kai-shek fought for Sun Yat-sen's United Revolutionary League and the Kuomintang party to overthrow China's imperial dynasty. The Republic of China was established in 1912, but by the end of the 1920s the Kuomintang split with the Communists (led by Mao Zedong). After the death of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang became the leader of the Kuomintang army and seized control of the government. Still engaged in a civil war with the Communists, General Chiang also led the army against Japanese invaders in Manchuria (1937). During World War II, Chiang had the support of the Allied powers and was the supreme commander of the China theater for the length of the war, the acknowledged leader of a war-torn and impoverished China. After World War II ended, the Kuomintang and the Communists reignited the civil war, and Chiang was eventually driven off the mainland to the island of Taiwan (1949), where the Kuomintang set up a government-in-exile. Until his death in 1975, Chiang ruled Taiwan under martial law and modernized the economy, receiving support from the West for his anti-communism. His international position waned after the 1971 United Nations decision to recognize the Communists as the official government of China.

Chiang's son, Chiang Ching-kuo, ruled Taiwan until his death in 1988. Chiang's wife, Madame Chiang, was an international celebrity in her own right and lived to be 106 years old.

Chiang Kai-shek was born in Xikou, a town that is approximately 20.5 miles southwest of downtown Ningbo, in Fenghua County, Zhejiang. However, his ancestral home, a concept important in Chinese society, was the town of Heqiao in Yixing County, Wuxi Prefecture, Jiangsu (approximately 38 kilometers or 24 miles southwest of downtown Wuxi, and 10 kilometers from the shores of the Lake Taihu).

Zhou Enlai (Founding Premier of the People's Republic of China)
Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), the Founding Premier of the People's Republic of China, was a great contemporary proletarian revolutionary, strategist and diplomat, and also an outstanding leader of the Party and State. He successively filled the posts of the Vice-President of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China and the Premier of the State Council. He was internationally acknowledged as one of the most prominent great men in 20th century. His works include“Selected Works of Zhou Enlai”, “Selected from Zhou Enlai about United Front”, “Selected Letters of Zhou Enlai” and “Selected Poems of Zhou Enlai.”

Zhou Enlai was born in Huai’an, Jiangsu. His family, although of the educated scholar class, was not well off. His grandfather, a minor civil servant of the Emperor, was poorly paid. His father repeatedly failed the Imperial examinations, and throughout his life would be employed in low-paying minor clerkships.

Jiang Zemin (Political Leader)

• Born: 17 August 1926
• Birthplace: Yangzhou, Jiangsu
• Best Known As: President of the People's Republic of China, 1993-2003

Jiang earned a university degree in electrical engineering and began his career in the Communist Party while still a student. He spent years as a factory manager (even training at the Soviet Union's Stalin Automobile Works in 1955) before making his way into politics. By 1985, he had become mayor of Shanghai, a high-profile position which gave him an international reputation. He became General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in June 1989, cementing his position as the protégé of and heir apparent to Deng Xiaoping. Jiang became President of the People's Republic of China in 1993, and assumed full leadership upon Deng's 1997 death. He stepped down as President in March of 2003 and was succeeded by Hu Jintao.

Hu Jintao (Political Figure/President of China)
Hu Jintao was born in Jiangyan, Jiangsu, in 1942. He had three brothers and two sisters. His ancestors were from Jixi, a county of the old Huizhou Fu (徽州), in the southeastern part of Anhui province. Huizhou Fu was famous for the merchants who dominated business operation in southern China. His branch of the family migrated to Jiangyan in his grandfather's generation.

Hu Jintao became president of the People's Republic of China in 2003, succeeding Jiang Zemin. Hu, a trained engineer, joined the Communist party in 1964 and quickly worked his way up, gaining notice in Beijing as a leader in the Communist Youth League. Most of his career was spent in western China, overseeing Gansu, Guizhou and Tibet. Picked for the Central Committee's Political Bureau in 1992 by Deng Xiaoping, Hu was the first modern Chinese leader to start his political career after the 1949 communist revolution. In 2002, all other senior leaders of the Central Committee stepped down to make way for a "fourth generation" of party officials, but Hu remained, leading political analysts to conclude that Hu would eventually take over for President Jiang Zemin. (The same year Hu was named General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.) Although he has been considered a reformer by some, Hu also has demonstrated his loyalty to traditional policies of Beijing, including the rigid control over political opposition; in 1989 Hu imposed martial law in Tibet to deter pro-independence demonstrations. Since taking office as president, Hu has taken charge of the China's military and reached out diplomatically to countries around the world.