Philosophy
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Yang Zhu said, “Doing good deeds is not, in itself, done to gain a good reputation, yet a good reputation naturally follows; having gained a good reputation, one does not seek to gain benefits, yet benefits naturally come one’s way; having gained benefits, one does not compete with others for them, yet the calamities that…
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The State of Jin was plagued by a proliferation of thieves. There was a man named Xi Yong who could determine whether a person was a thief by reading their facial features. The Marquis of Jin had him examine the populace for thieves, and among hundreds of people, not a single thief would escape his…
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During the Warring States period, there was a man from the State of Qin named Niu Que, a highly learned scholar of great repute from the region of Shangdi. Once, while on his way to the capital of Zhao to pay respects to the ruler of Zhao, he passed through a place called Ousha where…
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“To be, or not to be” – Shakespeare “Erchen” (literally “two-subject officials”) refers to those who served as officials in the previous dynasty and then surrendered to and served in the subsequent dynasty. Because this violates the “way of loyalty and righteousness” in Chinese culture, the term carries a strong moral judgment. Towards the end…
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The Dream of the Yellow Millet is a famous Chinese fable from the novel “The Story of the Pillow’ by the Tang Dynasty writer Shen Jiji. A poor scholar surnamed Lu chanced upon an old Taoist priest surnamed Lü at an inn in Handan, whilst on his way to sit the imperial examinations. Lu lamented…
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King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius, “Is it true that (Zhou dynasty) King Wen’s park was thirty five kilometre in circumference?” Mencius replied, “It is so written in the historical records.” The king asked, “Was it really that large?” Mencius said, “And yet the people still found it too small.” The king said, “My park…