One day, Emperor Taizong wanted to make some medicine. The main ingredient was the fat from mutton but the process of obtaining it was tricky because it was not supposed to congeal. The emperor asked an imperial official in charge of food at Guanglu Temple on how to obtain the fat. The official was not sure and sought advice from another official by the name of Hao Chujun. Hao Chujun thought about it and remembered that the Emperor could not take an animals life. So he came up with a plan.
Hao Chujun reported to the emperor. He told the emperor that they would need fifty fat sheep. The sheep would be slaughtered one by one in front of one another so that every sheep would be frightened by such a gruesome sight. Then, when it was time for the last sheep to be slaughtered, it would have been so terrified by that point that its fat would not congeal.
But Emperor Taizong could not bear the thought of killing sheep that way. He therefore ordered that the making of such medicine be stopped. He also rewarded Hao Chujun for his erudition.
From the book Chaoyeqianzai written in the Tang dynasty
* * *
You are welcome to print and circulate all articles published on Clearharmony and their content, but please quote the source.
more ...