Zhao Gao, a high-ranking official of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), gifted the emperor with a deer, insisting it was a horse. Laughing, the amused emperor asked his entourage what they thought.

The founder of the Qin dynasty, who was also responsible for the Great Wall of China and the conquering of rival states, ordered his tomb begun shortly after unification, with a “convict ...