During the reign of Emperor Gao Zong of the Tang Dynasty, there lived an elderly man named Zhang Gongyi, whose family of nine generations lived together as one household. His family was large, with hundreds of members, yet everyone lived in harmony and never quarrelled.
Emperor Gao Zong, hearing of this, became curious and visited Zhang at his home. He asked Zhang how he had managed to maintain such peaceful coexistence between family members of nine generations. Zhang asked the emperor for paper and pen so he could write something down. He then wrote the character “忍” (ren, meaning forbearance) one hundred times.
Zhang said, “With so many people in the family, conflicts are inevitable. If everyone can be more tolerant and forgiving, there will be no quarrels, and the family will naturally be harmonious.” The emperor wholeheartedly agreed.
#6 张公百忍
唐朝高宗年间有一个叫张公艺的老人九代同居。他的家族很大，几百口人住在一起，但大家都能和睦相处，从来不吵架。
唐高宗听说了这件事，便很好奇顺道去他家里看看，问他是用什么方法，能够做到九代同居而相安无事？这位张公请求皇帝给他纸笔，要写给他看。结果，他接连写了一百个“忍”字。
张公说：“家里人多，难免有矛盾。如果每个人都能多一点忍让，多一点包容，就不会吵架，家庭自然就和睦了。”
皇帝听了以后，非常赞同。