I found this article on Chinese Jesters and thought you might find it 
interesting
willow de Wisp

The Jesters of Ancient China

The jesters of ancient China are not like the traditional jesters of 
medieval Europe who dressed up in jovial clothes whose only purpose 
was to entertain and amuse. The jesters of ancient China were men of 
great wisdom who would advise the king by way of jest, when the king 
may have become angry if told directly of his flaw.

One of these men was Chunyu Kun of Chi who on several occasions 
advised King Wei of Chi. One instance was when King Wei had neglected 
his duties as monarch for too long, so Chunyu Kun posed a riddle to 
him teaching him the error in his ways. Through this simple riddle 
King Wei changed from neglecting his kingdom to being a very dutiful 
king. He lead his armies out to rid their land of invaders who had 
come in because of King Wei's neglect.

 Another time King Wei requested that Chunyu Kun go to the Chao to 
request military aid for the country. Unfortunately the king did not 
send sufficient tribute with Chunyu Kun to gain the favor with the 
Chao. Chunyu Kun wanted to help his liege see the error in his ways. 
So Chunyu Kun told King Wei a story about a man who desired a huge 
gift from the gods but was only offering a small token to them in 
return. This helped King Wei see the error in his ways and he sent a 
large gift to the Chao instead.

 Chunyu Kun also helped King Wei see the error in his nightly 
drinking by telling a story to illustrate the "ill effects of all 
excess."

Another jester of ancient China, named Meng, advised King Chuang of 
Chu on many occasions. In one story, King Chuang wanted to have his 
favorite horse buried with all the honors of a high official and 
decreed that, "The next man to remonstrate on the subject of the 
horse will be put to death." To help the king see the flaw in his 
logic, Meng took an extreme positon. Meng proposed that King Chuang 
not only bury the horse with the honors of a high official but have 
the horse be buried with the honors fitting a king. This helped the 
king see that others would see him as "[thinking] little of men but 
very highly of horses," so he changed his mind and had the dead horse 
disposed of as all other livestock.

 He also helped King Chuang see the error in his policies in 
rewarding his diligent hard working ministers. His did this through a 
song telling how dishonest officials die wealthy, leaving their 
families much land and money, while an honest one died leaving his 
family next to nothing. As a result of Meng's song King Chuang 
changed his policies and began rewarding his good officials well.

The final jester mentioned in this chapter was a man named Chan of 
the Chin Dynasty. He once attended a party held by the First Emperor 
of Chin and in was raining while the guards were on duty out in the 
rain. Chan by means of a joke helped the emperor to see that he could 
cut the number of guards in half and still have plenty.

 He also helped the emperor see the flaw in making strategic passes 
in the empire into parks with only animals to guard them. He also 
helped the emperor see that lacquering the palace, though beautiful, 
was simply impractical.

Thus we see the usefulness of the jesters in helping their sovereign 
see some of the flaws that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. In the 
words of the Grand Historian: 'When Chunyu Kun leaned back and 
laughed, King Wei of Chi became a mighty monarch. When Meng shook his 
head and sang, a firewood vendor was enfeoffed. When Chan called down 
from the balustrade, the guard was reduced by half. Isn't that 
splendid!'



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