Fan Li was a minister of the State of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. He helped King Goujian of Yue defeat the State of Wu (described in the idiom story “Sleeping on Brushwood and Tasting Gall”). Later, he retired from politics and went into business, changed his name to Tao Zhu Gong and…

There was a prime minister during the Song Dynasty named Lü Mengzheng. He came from a very humble background but eventually rose to the position. On his first day attending court, civil and military officials stood in two lines as Lü Mengzheng led the way toward the emperor. Someone in the line pointed at him…

During the Warring States period, there was a very clever and eloquent man in the State of Qi named Chunyu Kun. Once, the King of Qi sent him as an envoy to present a very precious swan (called “hu” in ancient times) to the King of Chu as a gesture of goodwill. Chunyu Kun set…

Ximen Bao was an official of the State of Wei during the Warring States period. He was appointed magistrate of Ye county. Upon arriving, he inquired about the people’s hardships. Everyone said that the most difficult thing was to arrange wedding for the river god. Every year, the local elders, officials, and witch would choose…

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…