The school officials summoned the roommate, searched the room, and found the gold. Zhang Zhichang realised that if he claimed the gold was his, his roommate would certainly be punished. In addition, in the eyes of the masses, his roommate would be terribly shamed. Accordingly, he said, "That is not my gold."

Emperor Xianwen was fond of the doctrine of Buddhism and lived in tranquillity, with little attachment to worldly affairs and wealth. He often thought of leaving the palace for cultivation. He thus gave an imperial decree: “I always yearn to live in antiquity and am indifferent to fame and wealth. I am commanding the crown prince to be the emperor. I only want to live in leisure without cares and to cultivate myself.”

While it might be a challenge to paint a complete portrait of a human being, the ancient Chinese people used only two simple strokes in the Chinese character for “human being.” Human beings are the most complicated creatures on earth, but the character for “human being” is the easiest to write in Chinese. It is both pretty to look at and easy to write. The profound Chinese written language has never ceased to amaze me. This is an excellent illustration of an essential characteristic of the Chinese culture --- using the most simple, elegant solution to solve the most complicated problem.

The Chinese character for rat in oracle-bone scriptures resembled the shape of a rat a lot. It included a pointed mouth and lowered head, which resembled a rat savouring stolen food. The character for rat in ancient Chinese inscriptions on bronze included a head in order to accentuate the four large incisors. Since the incisors are forever growing, rats have to gnaw for life.

Mr. Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) was a famous scholar in the Bei Song Dynasty (960-1127). Although he was very outstanding in literature and had a high ranking position, he was very humble about learning from others. His famous article Zuiwongting (Toast Pavilion) is a very short and beautiful piece that people praise and read aloud to this day. That article was edited according to a logger's suggestion.

There are many different species of birds. Hence, there are many variations of characters for bird in the ancient Chinese oracle-bone scriptures. One variation showed a bird looking down for food. Another variation showed a bird looking up to the sky. Yet another variation showed a bird standing quietly. Each variation had beautiful lines.

He could find neither the house nor the elderly lady who had given him half of the couplet. In fact, the elderly lady was transformed from Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy. Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara saw Ping Chengxiu’s noble character the fact that he did not indulge in lust and thus helped him to place first at the imperial civil service examination.

He once shouted out loud in a busy market in Kuizhou, “Tonight eight men will come here. Watch out!” No one understood what he meant. That night a large fire burned down several hundred households. It was not until then that people realized “eight men” referred to the Chinese character “fire.” The Chinese character for fire, when taken apart, resembles two characters, eight and man.

Meanwhile, there was a rich man called Wang Zhong. He told Gongsun Mu, "You can achieve great things if you had money. I would like to give you a million coins to start a business. What do you think?" Gongsun Mu studied Hetu, Luoshu, and other books on cultivation. He understood the laws of heaven and predestination. He said, "Your kindness is deeply appreciated! Being rich or poor is for heaven to decide. I can have it only if it is in my life. I cannot take it from you!"

This soldier was also driven into the river. When he was about to drown, he felt that his feet had touched a giant rock. He looked down and saw that the giant rock under his feet was actually the white turtle that he had rescued and released years ago. The white turtle carried the soldier to the other side of the river. It then nodded repeatedly toward the solider to thank him and then returned to the river. This is the famous historical story of the white turtle repaying its rescuer.

He was given huge responsibilities, encountered unexpected disasters, and faced danger all the time, but no one ever saw him worried. He was always very peaceful and at ease, unmoved by any circumstances. Mr. Han Qi said, "I follow the principles of loyalty and self -restraint, therefore in difficult situations I have no fear of life or death. I am fortunate to be alive, and have accomplished my mission. My accomplishments are from the blessings of Heaven, not from my ability."

Han Qi served as the Prime Minister under three generations of Emperors at the Imperial Court during the Song Dynasty. He was a straightforward and upstanding person known for his generosity and great breadth of mind. People respectfully called him “Sir Han.” He once said, “In order to become a person with great integrity, one must be able to endure small things.”

He told Zeng Bu, “I was a government official. Something happened in my family, and I took taxpayers’ money for my personal use. The local government is investigating the case. I don’t have enough money to pay back the money I stole, so I have no choice but to sell my daughter to a merchant for 400,000 coins [note: 1000 coins was equivalent to 1 gram of silver]. I just brought my daughter over to the merchant’s house today. I was bidding farewell to my daughter in tears when you heard us.”

He would put a yellow soybean into one bottle whenever a kind intention arose in his mind or if he performed a good deed. He would put a black bean to the other bottle whenever there was an evil thought in his mind or if he performed a bad deed. At first, there were more black beans. Judging from this, we can see that everyone has shortcomings and makes mistakes. The key is how we deal with them.

From the perspective of ancient Chinese people, a goat is a symbol of luck and peace. Luck and peace is written as 吉祥 in modern times, but they were written as 吉羊 in ancient times. This is because peace (祥) and goat (羊) shared the same Chinese character in ancient times. The goat is a docile and peaceful animal. Goats do not bully the weak and rarely lose their temper. When they do fight occasionally, they simply bump against each other’s horns to test each other’s strength and never resort to sneaky attacks

Cangjie: Forget about convenience or speed. There is a Chinese saying, “Haste makes waste.” Every stroke in a Chinese character carries a special meaning. When you change a Chinese character’s form, you will alter its meaning. The consequences will be very severe. We absolutely must not modify or damage the Chinese characters’ forms at will only to make it easier to write them.

Tangtaizong said, "That is true, indeed. When I am doing something wrong, you need to admonish me as soon as I begin. I found that in previous dynasties some emperors did not like to hear their officials admonish them. They always said, 'It is done already,' or 'I have given my consent already,' and did not want to correct themselves. In this way, how could they avoid failing?"

Lian Po thought of his achievements in battle and compared himself to Lin Xiangru, who was born in a humble family. How could Lin Xiangru be placed higher in rank than he simply because of his ability to talk? Lian Po felt quite distressed and claimed repeatably that, if he ever met up with Lin Xiangru, he would teach him a lesson and dishonour him to his face. Against his expectations, he never saw Lin Xiangru whenever he went to the court, making him even more furious.

After Zhao Kuangyin became the emperor, he once asked Cao, “In the past, I always wanted to get to know you better. Why did you deliberately keep your distance and stay away from me?” Cao Bin replied, “I was a close relative of the former Zhou emperor and was also an official in his court. I was concentrating on fulfilling my duties and not making any mistakes. How did I dare to befriend Your Majesty?” The Emperor thought even more highly of him because of his honest answer.

"The Emperor's greed destroys his country while an official's greed destroys his body." This was what Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, used to exhort his government officials not to take bribes or practise graft, and to caution himself. Emperor Taizong and his officials managed to rule the country by virtue and, through this, bring peace and stability. Together they made the Great Tang Dynasty one of the most prosperous in China's history.

Ji Xiaolan remarked, “Out of all the major character flaws, there is almost nothing worse than being arrogant and fearless, thinking one has things that he can rely on. People who rely on their wealth are often defeated because of their wealth. People who rely on their power are often defeated because of their power. People who rely on wisdom are often defeated because of their wisdom. People who rely on their strength are often defeated because of their strength."

If you really study, then even the most challenging subject can become easy. On the other hand, if you don't want to study, then even the easiest assignment becomes difficult. If one relies on his own intellect and educational background but refuses to study more, then the person will destroy his future. Those who refused to be discouraged by their own average intelligence and capability and continued to learn did obtain success through their own efforts.

A lot of virtuous men in ancient China valued virtue and loyalty above material gain. They thought little of their own fortune while being enthusiastic about giving charity to others. They were content with a simple, minimal lifestyle and would try their best to help people in need unconditionally, even strangers.

One time, the Ping King of Jin asked scholar Qi Huangyang, "Nanyang County needs a governor. Who is most capable for that position?" Qi Huangyang answered, "Xie Hu is the most capable." The King asked, "Isn't Xie Hu your enemy?" Qi Huangyang replied, "Your Majesty asked me who is the most capable of being the governor, not who is my enemy." The Ping King exclaimed, "Great." When Xie Hu was appointed the governor of Nanyang County, all the people in Jin highly praised him.

When Shi Yinchi returned to Chu, the king was about to attack Song. Ambassador Shi said to the king, "We should not attack Song. Their king is wise, and their prime minister is kind. These wise rulers have won the love of their people, and the kind prime minister has the support of talented people. If we attack them, we will fail and the people of the world will laugh at us."

There were two pots full of water in the yard. The recluse hermit pointed to one of them: “If this pot had a tiny ant-like hole on its bottom that leaked water, but you poured a litre of water out of the other pot every day. Which pot do you reckon will become empty first?”

"One day I put one of my fingers into the nest, and the baby swallows tried to eat my finger. I took three large thorny seeds and gave each baby swallow a thorny seed. They died shortly afterwards. When the mother swallow returned and saw her dead babies, she wailed sadly and flew away. To this day, every time I think of it, I still regret killing the three baby swallows."

Duke Huan of Qi said, "It is not true. If he were investigated, I am afraid that people would talk about his small imperfections, and we would overlook his talent and virtue. This is precisely why some kings cannot keep the world's talented people. Furthermore, no one is perfect. We should consider his merits more." He immediately ordered Guan Zhong, the Prime Minister of Qi, to welcome Ning Qi and appoint him as a minister. Ning Qi did not disappoint anyone and demonstrated his many skills

"If we progress one foot, that is our own one foot; if we progress one inch, that is our own one inch. If we accumulate one bit of virtue, it is equal to accumulating one pound of grain; if we progress by studying one bit tomorrow, it is equal to saving one penny. When we increase both virtue and study, then our family can become more prosperous day by day."

All of King Xuan's guards blamed Yan Chu. "The king rules a nation. You, Yan Chu, are just a subject of the kingdom. The king asked you to come over, and then you asked the king to come over. What kind of behaviour is this?" Yan Chu said, "If I go there, I am greedy for power. However, if the king comes here, he treats a gentleman scholar courteously. It is better to let our king obtain the fame of treating a gentleman courteously, rather than to let me suffer the reputation of currying favour with powerful people."

After his father died, his stepmother stashed away her husband's money for herself and gave it all to her own son. Furthermore, she gave all the good farmland to her own son and left only a small lot of infertile land to Wu Zitian, who was very angry and argued with his stepbrother. His wife, Sun, again persuaded him not to offend his stepmother over the uneven division of their inherited property.

Zhang Tingyu from the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 A.D.) once said, "Everything in the world is the result of destiny. No one can escape his destiny. Each man has a predetermined lifespan and medicine cannot alter anyone's lifespan." Why did Zhang Tingyu make such a comment? Here's the story:

Fang Xiaoru was an eminent scholar of Song dynasty neo-Confucianism, and a writer in the early Ming dynasty. He was very knowledgeable and talented. In the era of Hongwu, he served as tutor for the crown prince. Later he was summoned to the Inner Court as academic adviser to the Emperor. Fang Xiaoru wrote a famous article titled, "Zhi Yu" to explain, "in worldly matters, minor things can develop into major calamities," which uses illness as an analogy in cautioning people to prevent serious problems before they occur.

She stated in Women’s Precepts that, the characters of yin and yang are different, and therefore man and woman’s behaviour should be different too. Yang is characterised with strength, and yin is symbolised with delicacy. Therefore, while a man is honoured for being strong and healthy, and woman is considered beautiful for being gentle and delicate.

The day after that, Xu Gong came to visit Zou Ji, so Zou Ji took the opportunity to compare himself with Xu Gong. Carefully he examined himself in front of the mirror, and he realised Xu Gong was better looking than him. There was no match with him. At night while sleeping, finally the truth dawned on him. He realised that his wife said that he was better looking than Xu Gong, because she loved him and because she was afraid of him. His guest had said that he was more handsome because he wished to seek something from him.

Wenhou's footman asked him, "Why do you salute?" Wenhou answered, "Isn't this Duan Ganmu's house? Mr. Duan Ganmu is a highly virtuous person, how can I dare not salute him?" He also commented, "Mr. Duan Ganmu's glory is earned by his virtue, but my glory is earned by owning a large amount of land; Mr. Duan Ganmu has integrity, and I only have wealth. Owning land cannot compare to owning virtue; wealth cannot be compared with integrity, so I should pay him respect."

On that day, the lazy man who had never done any honest work before suddenly had an impulse to do something. When everyone ran back home from the field, he did the opposite. He took a hoe and told everyone that he wanted to see the field. His family thought that his action was very strange. His family urged him to stay at home, saying it was too dangerous. He didn't listen, so his family cursed at him, saying, "Then go and let the lightning kill you!"

Xianzhang came in. Qijinggong said to him, "Xianzhang, since we lost Yanzi 17 years ago, no one has pointed out my shortcomings and mistakes. My arrow did not hit the target today, but every single one of my senior officials praised me." Xianzhang answered, "Your senior officials do not have the courage to admonish you. I have heard it said that, 'Ministers like to wear what the king wears and eat what the king eats.' Do you like to hear flattering words?"

While he was there, he discovered an urn of gold in the ground. Instead of taking it as his own, he put the urn back where it was and hid it in the ground again. Later he became the prime minister and told the monks to remove the gold to renovate the temple. Surprisingly, the gold disappeared from the urn. There was nothing but a piece of paper detailing Fan Zhongyan’s resume as a government official and his salary. It turned out the sum of his salaries were identical to the value of the missing gold. Apparently the gold was a test on Fan from the gods and Fan had passed with flying colours.

Ancient people also said, 'Love others, and others will love you; respect others, and others will respect you.' It is a principle that applies to human relationships in society; it is also true within a family." Ma Wenan told her about the great virtue and favour that parents give to their children. He also told classic stories about children respecting their parents in ancient China.

Soon after, the enemy entered the city. They asked Xun Jubo, "When our troops took the city, it was completely deserted. Who are you to dare to stay here alone?" Xun Jubo replied, "My friend is sick. I could not bring myself to leaving him. I would rather sacrifice my life in exchange for his."

When both men were in the mountain and no one was around, Zhao Huan took out his knife and tried to kill his nephew, saying that he wanted revenge for the injustice of three generations. Zhao Xian ran into the woods to a temple made from hay. As Zhao Huan followed, an old monk stopped him and asked him what he wanted. Zhao Huan declared, "I want to kill my enemy." The old monk laughed out loud, "What enemy? You are your own enemy. Wait a minute, I will let you know your past life stories. After that you will be able to see who the bad guy really is."

She said, “We are luckily that you have given us instructions where to build a good house. Since then, our farm has done very well. All our family members are happy and healthy. Our life is really good. We have always wanted to find you and give our thanks to you. To our surprise, you are here again.” She then prepared a banquet to honour him. She requested all her family members to personally thank him one by one. The fengshui master was deeply confused. He felt bad about what he had done before and grew quiet.

The crowd surrounded the Futai and was determined to drag him to go and have a look. The Futai had no other choice but to sit on the large sedan chair carried by eight people and they came to the West Lake. A few li’s (the distance unit used by Chinese people. 1 li = 500 meters, or 0.3 mile) away from the lakefront, he smelled a strong odour blowing straight to the sedan chair. Luckily he hadn’t eaten breakfast in the morning because he didn’t get a chance. Even then he barely managed to hold back the vomit.

His wife said to him, "If one is not capable, but assumes a high ranking position, he can only do harm; if one accumulates wealth without merit, he is accumulating potential disaster. Now you are accumulating more and more wealth just because you are greedy. I heard there is a leopard in the South Mountain who was hiding in the foggy rainy for seven days to moisten its fur and help it to grow spots, so that it can better avoid being harmed. If a pig eats everything and gets fat, it will be soon butchered. You do not cultivate virtue but our family is getting wealthy day by day. We are doomed to face disaster."

His son nodded his head and looked as if he had finally understood his father. Liang Guozhi continued, “Being honest is the first step to become a good person. Only a person who does not lie and is honest can become an open and upright person.”

Take Chen Caoan for an example. He was a Han that rose to the post of Deputy Prime Minister. Even a Deputy Prime Minister experienced the pain of discrimination, let alone common Han civilians and peasants. Chen Caoan expressed his misery using sarcasm and black humour, but the humour in the poem made the poet’s sadness become more apparent. Readers are likely to find the poem mildly amusing but feel terribly sad for the poet.

In sharp contrast with Tang Dynasty Poetry and Song Dynasty Lyric Verse, Yuan Dynasty Songs are full of life and their language is very animated. They also allow richer and more colourful expressions. Moreover, they are distinctly more beautiful when recited or sung because of their more perfected rhyming. When they first become acquainted with Yuan Dynasty Songs, readers who are used to reading Tang Dynasty Poetry and Song Dynasty Lyric Verse often find Yuan Dynasty Songs very refreshing.

Lin Tuizhai told them, "I don't have much to say. As long as you learn to be forbearing, that will be enough. Since ancient times, there have been lots of heroes who failed in many things only because they couldn't endure a loss! Since ancient times, there were also many heroes who have achieved many things only because they were able to endure the shame and suffering of loss! For example, Han Xin endured the shame of crawling under a thug's legs, but later he was able to become a great general and be conferred as Sanqi King by Liu Bang, while the youth in Huaiyin who insulted him earlier in life became his subordinate."