Kind, Gracious, and Forgiving, Du Lide Refuses to Respond to Abuse

Du Lide, also called Chunyi, was from Baodi in Shuntian (current Baodi Area in Tianjin City) in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD). He ranked high as the minister of Etiquette, and he was honoured as a private teacher for princes. He was known for his kindness, graciousness, and forgiveness in both his public and private life.

On one occasion, he was riding in a cart for a trip out of town when for some reason his horseman got into a dispute with a ruffian. The man was drunk and followed Du's cart while cursing him. Du acted as if he heard nothing.

When Du got home, the ruffian also arrived. He kept cursing Du outside his residence. After a long time, Du Lide sent someone to ask him, "Are you done cursing?"

The next day, when the ruffian became sober, he heard from others that he had badgered and humiliated the minister. He immediately ran to Du's resident to beg for his forgiveness. Du did not blame him, but instead he kindly offered some advice and gave the ruffian a couple of ounces of silver for him to start doing some decent business. The man returned home with tears in his eyes.

From then on, he gave up his wrongdoings and worked hard to be a good person. Each New Year's Day, he would go to Du's residence and kneel down to pay respect to Du for his mercy, generosity, and financial help.