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Wu Xun (1838–1896) lost his father in childhood and could not afford education. Later, whilst working as a labourer, he was cheated out of three years’ wages by his employer due to his illiteracy, an experience that deeply traumatised him. He set himself the grand ambition of “establishing a charity school for the poor” and…
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“All under heaven bustle about in pursuit of profit; all under heaven jostle about in pursuit of profit.” – Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Merchants “Fame and fortune are the things this fleeting world values most; how many throughout the ages have been able to cast them aside?” – Tang dynasty poem During…
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People who enjoy being flattered to their faces are called “those who delight in wearing high hats.” A court official in the capital was sent to take up a position in the provinces. Before his departure, he went to bid farewell to his teacher. The teacher said, “Being a local official is no easy task;…
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”It is upon bad fortune that good fortune leans, upon good fortune that bad fortune rests. “ – Lao Tzu There lived an old man near the frontier who was skilled in divination. One day, his horse ran off to the lands of the nomadic tribes beyond the border. The neighbours all came to console…
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Wang Ceng (978–1038AD) was a renowned prime minister and poet of the Northern Song dynasty. As prime minister, Wang Ceng never made a public show of either promoting or dismissing officials, to the extent that people were unaware of which individuals had been appointed or dismissed at his behest. The statesman Fan Zhongyan once said…
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Li Hongzhang (1823-1901AD) was a renowned statesman of the late Qing dynasty. On one occasion, a distant relative of his sat the imperial examinations. This man was completely uneducated; upon receiving the examination paper, he found himself unable to answer a single question. At that moment, a sudden thought struck him: he remembered he was…