“Relatives of the wives of emperors are always greedy. They want all of their daughters to marry dukes and all of their sons to marry princesses. This disturbs me. One should be content with one’s lot in life. People who boast of their riches are often ridiculed.” Yin could not agree more. From then on she was even stricter with herself, never asking for positions or privileges for her family members.

Tang Taizong, the second Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, is widely considered to be the greatest emperor in Chinese history. The period of his reign (624-649) is called the "Zhen Guan Years,” which was one of the most prosperous periods of time in Chinese history. He is known as an emperor with great virtues. Here are some personal stories about Taizong that illustrate his character.

In ancient times, Chinese people believed that human society and the universe corresponded to one another. Changes in the human world were the result of changes in celestial phenomena, which could bring either good fortune or disasters to human society. One’s future was predestined and governed by cosmic laws, be it birth, ageing, sickness, or death. As to whether one can escape these cosmic laws or not, readers can draw their own conclusions from reading this ancient story.

In ancient times, Chinese people believed that man and nature were closely connected and abnormal celestial phenomena corresponded to changes in the human world, manifesting as good luck or disasters for human beings. One’s destiny may be predestined and an invisible hand might be guiding birth, ageing, sickness and death.

Through a careful examination by experts, an image of a knight is found among the many animals. His sleeves are rolled up. He wears a vest, a broad belt, and a pair of boots. A dagger is inserted in the scabbard that is located at his left boot. The left hand of the knight is in the left pocket of his trousers. His long hair appears to be flying in the wind, which exactly looks like the image of an animal. How can primitive people at the late stage of the Paleolithic Age draw such a complex picture? Also how could they have know how to wear boots?

Emperor Tai Zong said, “An emperor is the source of a giant river and his officials constitute the giant river. If the source is contaminated, the river will be too. If I cheat my officials, how can I ask them to be honest? I wish to govern this land with the utmost sincerity; therefore, I often feel ashamed for those emperors who dealt with officials by using power and underhanded schemes."

One night when the old monk had fallen asleep he dreamt that an old woman in black approached him, bowed down and then left. Before she left, she said to Shang Gong, “I just owed your temple eight hundred coins.” Shang Gong then woke up and felt very strange about what she had said in the dream. He then took a pen and wrote down the story on a wall in his bedroom. The disciples living with him had no idea what the story meant.

One day Emperor Tai Zong saw locusts in the imperial garden. He then picked up several locusts and said, “My people’s lives depend on crops, but you ate their crops. I’d rather you ate my internal organs than my people’s crops.” Then he started to swallow the locusts. The subjects gathered around Emperor Tai Zong exclaimed, “Pests like locusts will ruin your stomach!” Emperor Tai Zong replied, “I am willing to bear any plagues, I fear no diseases.” Then he continued to swallow the remaining locusts. It is said that the locusts did not do much damage that year.

My mother is a doctor of Chinese medicine and is well known for the quality of her work in this field. She is diligent in her work and puts al ot of effort into ensuring that her work is carried out well. Although she hasn’t received a lot of formal education, she has had plenty of experience with Chinese traditional medicine and herbs. In our free time, she told me about a lot of medical cases that she had experienced. After hearing about her herbs and medicines again and again, I memorised their names. Now I am a doctor myself, but my mother’s valuable knowledge still guides me in treating difficult cases.

The boy said, “I am Tai Qing Zhengren. The Gods think that you are a gifted person and they sent me down to make friends with you, so I could teach you the secrets of the Tao. But because you were so proud and arrogant, you could never attain the Tao. What a pity!” After he finished, the boy then disappeared.

Tang Shao’s wife once complained: “You have a great reputation and hold an extremely high-level position at the government. You should be cautious in your choice of friends. Li Miao is from a completely different class of society. I think it is very inappropriate for you to be close to someone like Li Miao.” After a moment of silence, Tang Shao replied, “There is a reason behind this that you wouldn’t know about. My predestined relationship with Li Miao is deeper than that of an average friendship.”

Li Yuan was a high-ranking counselor to the emperor. He once lived reclusively in a hut on Song Mountain, a famous mountain in China in order to practise solitary cultivation. During one cold winter night, he started a fire in his hut to warm himself when an elderly man with a huge hat came right into his hut for the warmth. After a long while, the old man asked Li Yuan, “Do you want to go with me? I know you are someone who has the will.”

I asked, “Where did you get your epilepsy, your mother’s side or father’s side?” She replied, “From my mother’s side, my grandmother.” She looked heavyhearted. “When I was bullied and abused, I would wish I was sick. Afterwards I could control when I wanted to be sick, which was a form of protection. The outcome was unexpected and I gradually got weaker and weaker. Finally I had difficulty walking.

I took out a set of acupuncture needles and quickly acupunctured her Ren Zhong point (located between the nose and the mouth). Before she realised what was going on, the needle had already gone in about three centimetres. I asked her to breathe deeply, while I gently moved the needle in and out. One minute later, the pain had greatly subsided and she could stand upright. I asked her to walk a few steps with the needle in, and watched her face transform from pain to relief.

Though China’s history holds many tales of governmental corruption and stealing from those who can least afford it, none match the abuses of Jiang’s regime.