Once in the Chunqiu Dynasty (770 B.C. – 476 B.C.), a winter was very cold. There was a huge snowfall in the Qi State that had continued for three days already. People were very tired of it and wished it would stop soon.
The Qi King, Qi Jinggong (547 B. C. – 490 B. C.) was enjoying the scenery from his window while wearing a fox fur coat. He felt that the snow was becoming more and more beautiful, and wished that the snow would continue for several more days so the scenery would be even prettier.
At this moment, his courtier Yan Ying stepped in. Qi Jinggong said to him in high spirits, “The weather is strange this winter. You see, it has been snowing for three days, yet I do not feel cold, but rather feel like the spring is here.”
Yan Ying saw that Jinggong wore a warm fur coat and his room had a hot stove burning, so of course he felt like it was spring. Yan Ying asked Jinggong intentionally, “Are you sure it is not cold at all?”
Jinggong felt that Yan Ying’s question was rather funny and then nodded his head with a smile. Yan Ying knew Jinggong did not understand why he asked such a question, so then he spoke frankly. “My King, I heard that a wise king would think of hungry people when he is full, think of cold people when he is warm, and think of miserable people when he is comfortable and happy. How come you did not think of others?”
Jinggong was very embarrassed and his face blushed red because he knew he was wrong.
This story tells us that one should not care only about oneself without caring about others. One should think of others more in every circumstance.
Story sourced from (Clearwisdom.net)
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn’t worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well.
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During the Yuan Dynasty, in the spring of the 24th year of Emperor Ziyuan (A.D. 1287), Hu Bilie entrusted authority to his minister Shang Ge. However, Shang Ge was autocratic and cruel in his politics. He favored members of his own party and at the same time, rebuked and attacked politicians from other parties who had differing views. Shang Ge established a department called the “Zhengli” (tax collection) that was responsible for collecting owed taxes. This department dispatched many officers to monitor the roads. People who could not pay the taxes were arrested, and the jails were soon crowded with people. People who walked on the road dared not talk and were often suspicious of each other.
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There were many good mothers in ancient China who paid special attention to their children’s education. The following are inspirational stories of two mothers who taught their children to be pure and honest.
Tian Ji’s Mother Refuses to Accept a Bribe of Gold
During the Warring States Period (453–221 B.C.), Tian Ji was the prime minister of the Qi State. He was known for his hard work and diligence.
One day one of Tian’s subordinates presented Tian with a gift of 100 taels of gold so that he could be favored by Tian. [the Chinese tael refers to a unit of measure in the ancient Chinese system of weights and currency. One tael of silver weighed about 40 grams]. Tian refused the gift repeatedly, but he eventually accepted it to be diplomatic. He returned home and forwarded the gift to his mother. But his mother was outraged and scolded him, “This gold is worth more than your salary for the past three years as a prime minister! Have you robbed the gold from the people or have you accepted a bribe?”
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There is a shrine dedicated to Yue Fei on the bank of West Lake in Hangzhou City. [General Yue Fei is a much-celebrated hero of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 – 1279 A.D.) He is known for his courage and patriotism, and credited with defending China against northern invaders. He died a tragic death at the hands of a court official named Qin Hui.] In front of the Shrine there are four cast iron kneeling statues. Two statues are Qin Hui and his wife, Madam Wang, responsible for betraying the country and murdering Yue Fei. [click to continue…]
Hu-lin was a little slave girl. She had been sold by her father when she was scarcely more than a baby, and had lived for five years with a number of other children in a wretched houseboat. Her cruel master treated her very badly. He made her go out upon the street, with the other girls he had bought, to beg for a living.
This kind of life was especially hard for Hu-lin. She longed to play in the fields, above which the huge kites were sailing in the air like giant birds. She liked to see the crows and magpies flying hither and thither. It was great fun to watch them build their stick nests in the tall poplars. But if her master ever caught her idling her time away in this manner he beat her most cruelly and gave her nothing to eat for a whole day. In fact he was so wicked and cruel that all the children called him Black Heart. [click to continue…]
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