History
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Hui Ang was a statesman, rhetorician and philosopher from the State of Song during the Warring States period. Hui Ang paid a visit to King Kang of Song. King Kang stamped his foot, cleared his throat and said impatiently, ‘I value courage and strength above all else; I have no time for talk of benevolence,…