Stories from Ancient China: Being Forgiving, Benevolent and Disregarding Other's Mistakes

Han Qi was the Duke of Weiguo and a prime minister during the Song Dynasty of ancient China. One day, while he was leading an army in Ding Wu, he was writing a letter and asked one of his guards to hold a candle so that he could see what he was doing. The guard wasn't careful with the candle and set Han Qi's hair on fire. Han Qi quickly wiped out the flame with his sleeve and continued to write as if nothing had happened. After a while, he noticed that the original guard had been replaced. Han Qi was afraid that the original guard was going to be punished. So he hurriedly told the supervising guard, "Don't replace him. Bring him back. He has already learnt how to hold a candle properly." Everyone in the army greatly admired Han Qi.

When Han Qi was guarding the Da Ming Palace, someone presented him with two precious jade cups and told him, "A farmer found them in a grave, they're flawless in their beauty. They are truly unmatched treasures." Han Qi gave the presenter some platinum to thank him. He loved the cups very much. Whenever he invited guests to a banquet, the two jade cups were always placed on a specially set table covered with silk.

One day, an official in charge of water transportation was invited to attend his banquet. The two cups were brought out. But a guard was careless and knocked them over. Both of the cups were broken. All the guests were aghast and the guard knelt down waiting to be punished severely. Han Qi remained calm and smiled to the guests, remarking "Everything is predestined." He then said to the guard: "You slipped and didn't do it on purpose. How can it be your fault?" All the guests praised Han Qi and admired his great tolerance.