The Chinese

The Chinese used a slightly different form of steganography. Like the Greeks, the Chinese would transport secret information via messengers. The object was called a La wan, a thin piece of silk that had a message written on it. The silk was then rolled into a ball of wax, which was carried by a messenger somewhere on his or her person.

There is another example in history of the Chinese using steganography during the Yuan dynasty when China was ruled by the Mongolian Empire. The leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty were unhappy living under foreign rule and set out to coordinate a rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion decided to use the upcoming Moon Festival to coordinate their attack. The Moon Festival has a special tradition, the eating of moon cakes. The rebels had messages baked into each moon cake that outlined their attack plans. On the night of the festival, the cakes and the attack plans were distributed, and the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the Ming dynasty. Moon cakes are still eaten today in memory of this event.