Shi Hu, courtesy name Jilong, was the nephew of Shi Le, founder of the Later Zhao dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Ruthless by nature, he loved riding, hunting, and roaming without restraint from a young age. He had a deadly skill: galloping on a fast horse while firing pellets from a slingshot, hitting his mark almost every time. He would often race down the main road for no reason, shooting at passersby, and when the mood struck, he'd pester soldiers in camp with his slingshot. Everyone hated him and wanted him gone, but only Shi Le's mother, his grandmother Lady Wang, protected him. Lady Wang told Shi Le, "A colt grows up to pull a cart and carry its rider. Jilong may be wild now, but he'll be your helper when he's older. A nephew is family; others talk nonsense to drive a wedge between blood relatives."
As Shi Hu grew older and led troops into battle, he developed a savage love for slaughter. After capturing cities and breaching fortresses, he would execute everyone—men and women alike—without distinguishing friend from foe, good from evil. His uncle, Shi Le, repeatedly scolded him harshly for this, but Shi Hu’s forces were unstoppable in their campaigns, charging forward with no one able to stand against them. Though Shi Hu was murderous by nature, Shi Le found himself powerless to rein him in.
Shi Hu believed his achievements were unmatched, and after Shi Le ascended the throne as emperor, he expected to be named the crown prince—the Great Chanyu. To his shock, Shi Le appointed his own son, Shi Hong, as the Great Chanyu instead. Filled with resentment, Shi Hu confided to his son in private: "Since the emperor established his capital in Xiangguo, he has sat idly on the dragon throne while sending me to campaign east and west, facing arrows and stones head-on. For twenty years, I have pacified the north and laid the foundation for Great Zhao. Yet now, the emperor has given the title of Great Chanyu to a mere milk-fed brat! The thought keeps me from sleeping or eating. Once the sovereign passes away, I will surely eliminate that boy and wipe out the elder brother's line, so that our own branch of the clan may flourish and thrive!"
After Shi Le's death, Shi Hu seized power and declared himself emperor, moving the capital to Ye City.
Monk Wu Jin said to Shi Hu, "Recently, the rocks of Taihang Mountain have collapsed and the Zhang River has flowed backward. I observed the celestial signs at night—this is an omen that the barbarian's fortune is waning and the Jin's fortune is about to revive. The best course is to impose harsh labor on the Jin people to suppress their spirit."
Shi Hu ordered Minister Zhang Qun to conscript 160,000 men and women from nearby counties, along with 100,000 oxcarts and horse-drawn wagons, to haul stones and earth for building the Huaylin Garden and a protective wall around Ye City stretching dozens of li. Frustrated by the slow progress, Shi Le forced laborers to light oil torches and work around the clock. That summer and autumn, violent storms struck, killing tens of thousands of workers.
When the Hualin Garden and its towering walls were completed, Shi Hu took his eldest son Shi Xuan to offer prayers to the mountains and rivers. The two rode in lavish carriages adorned with gold and silver, their colorful banners fluttering in the wind. An army of 180,000 soldiers, divided into six columns, flanked the carriages as they proceeded from the Jinming Gate out of the palace, entered the Hualin Garden, and ascended the highest Lingxiao Tower, where they gazed out over the distant mountains and great rivers.
"Our family rules the world; unless the sky falls and the earth cracks, we have nothing to worry about. From now on, we will play with our children and grandchildren every day, living happily!"
The year after Hualin Garden was completed, Shi Hu died of illness, plunging Later Zhao into civil war, and his entire family was wiped out.
Later, the idiom "Holding a Child and Playing with a Grandchild" came to describe enjoying the happiness of holding and playing with one's descendants.
Source: *Book of Jin*, "Biography of Shi Jilong, Part Two"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "抱子弄孙" came to describe enjoying the happiness of holding and playing with one's descendants.