King+Wuling

=King Wuling, the warrior who brought trousers to Ancient China= King Wuling ruled over Ancient China from 325BC until he died in 295BC.

At that time, China was surrounded by many enemies.

The Chinese army was used to fighting in chariots and the noble warriors (who led the foot soldiers) wore traditional robes, even when they were fighting.

But when the barbarian armies started attacking, they came on horseback, riding in cavalries. With their bows and arrows, the barbarians were much quicker and more efficient than the slow Chinese armies, and they started winning lots of battles.

So the Chinese armies had to change. King Wuling introduced cavalry, but (as you know if you've ever ridden a horse) a long robe is not suitable for riding horses. The robes had very wide sleeves and the skirt of the robes reached the ground. The nobles did not want to change: they liked their beautiful expensive robes that showed everybody how important and how wealthy they were. They did not want to dress like barbarians because they thought that the barbarians were not as good as they were.

But in 307 BC King Wuling made them change. He said that when they were fighting in the cavalry they had to wear trousers (with belts to hold them up) and boots. He said they had to wear fur caps and fur clothes too, to keep them warm when they were fighting in the mountains. King Wuling wore these clothes himself, to show his nobles how important it was.

And he told them something very important: He said that //Those who use the old to define the new do not achieve change.// That means, when it's time to move on, don't look back to the past, look to the future - and that's still good advice today!

After that, the Chinese army won lots of battles and King Wuling was able to expand his empire.

King Wuling, [|Wikipedia] [|Chinese Lives, the People Who Made a Civilization], by Victor H. Mair, Sanping Chen and Frances Wood, Thames and Hudson, 2013, ISBN: 9780500251928
 * Sources**