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 the gold, looked at it, and then threw it back down.
On another occasion, the two were sitting on the same mat reading books. A high-ranking official passed by the front door in a grand carriage. Guan Ning went on reading as if nothing had happened, but Hua Xin put down his book and ran outside to watch. Believing that their values and aspirations were completely different, Guan Ning cut their shared mat in half to show that he was breaking off their friendship.
Later, Hua Xin served the Cao Wei regime and was a key participant in forcing Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate the throne to Cao Pi. Guan Ning, on the other hand, repeatedly refused summons from Cao Wei and never entered government service throughout his life. He was revered by later generations an upright gentleman indifferent to fame and wealth.
Source: *A New Account of the Tales of the World – Virtue and Conduct*
#62 管宁割席
管宁和华歆是东汉末年至三国时期的名士。一次两人在菜园里锄草，挖到了一块黄金。管宁把它当作瓦石一样不予理会，继续干活；华歆则把金子捡起来看了看，然后又丢掉了。
两人坐同一张席子读书。有一次有显贵的官员乘马车从门前经过。管宁依然读书如故，华歆却放下书跑出去观看。管宁认为二人志趣迥异，就割开共坐的席子以示绝交。
后来华歆辅助曹魏，是逼迫汉献帝禅让帝位给曹丕的主要参与者。
而管宁多次拒绝曹魏的征召，终身不仕，被后世视为清高淡泊的真君子。
出自《世说新语 – 德行》