It is said that Kao Ch’ang-kung—Prince of Lan-ling in Shantung, known to most as Prince Ling—was graced with a face of womanish beauty, and that he found that in battle his enemies were not afraid of him. He therefore took to wearing a ferocious mask. But the real motive for this ruse was a subject of considerable dispute. On the one hand, those envious of Prince Ling’s beauty went so far as to claim that he wore the mask to protect his delicate complexion; on the other hand, his many friends argued that in his wisdom and mercy he indeed wished to scare away the misguided enemy, for he was second to none in his mastery of martial arts.