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Guan Ning and Hua Xin were famous scholars during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Once, while the two were weeding in a vegetable garden, they dug up a piece of gold. Guan Ning treated it like a piece of rubble, ignored it, and continued working. Hua Xin, however, picked up…
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During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was an official named Chen Shi. He was exceptionally fair and just. Whenever people had disputes, they would go to him for a rightful judgment. He would always explain right from wrong in detail based on facts and reason, leaving both parties with no resentment afterward. Some people even…
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Sun Shu’ao (630 BC – 593 BC) was a famous chancellor of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period. When Sun Shu’ao was a child, he went out to play and encountered a two-headed snake. He killed the snake and buried it. Upon returning home, he began to cry. When his mother…
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A neighbour of Yang Zhu lost a sheep. This neighbour took his family and friends with him, and also asked Yang Zhu to send his servants to help track down the sheep. Yang Zhu said, ‘It’s only one lost sheep—why do you need so many people to go after it?’ The neighbour replied, ‘Because there…
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During the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Dong Xuan served as Magistrate of Luoyang. A servant in the household of Princess Huyang – Emperor Guangwu’s elder sister – had committed murder in broad daylight, yet the princess sheltered him within her residence, preventing the officials from arresting him. Dong Xuan intercepted the princess’s carriage…
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The *Ledger of Merits and Demerits* is a traditional Chinese moral self-accounting system, originated from Neo-Confucianism, especially popular in Ming and Qing dynasties. A person records his good deeds (merits) and bad deeds (demerits) in a ledger, often assigning point values to each action. By regularly reviewing and balancing the score, they aim to improve moral conduct, accumulate merit, and…