Stories from History: Corrupt and Sinful Official Punished by Heaven

Jiao Junming was smart and capable and became a government official when he was very young. However, he did not receive any promotions for a long period of time after he was given his position. He often complained about his tough career and thought that heaven was unfair because he felt he was not being properly compensated for his efforts. He even wrote an article questioning heaven regarding his fate.

At dusk the day he wrote the article, a piece of white silk with words written on it suddenly fell from the sky onto his desk where he kept his incense burner. Taking a close look, he could not understand what was written on the letter because it was written in heavenly characters.

Jiao Junming was a cultivator and knew a celestial maiden, so he went to ask her. She looked at the letter, but would not say anything about what it said. When Jiao Junming begged her, she said, “You have received a bribe of 5 liang in gold. Consequently, your lifetime will be shortened by 10 years. You wrongfully killed a person, and thus you will be punished even after death. Have you made such mistakes?”

Upon being questioned, Jiao Junming was stunned and speechless. Not long after, he died from an acute disease.

Jiao Junming obtained fame as a result of his high scores on the national exams and became an official at a young age. Afterward, he became corrupt and took bribes. He did bad things and killed innocent people. His life was shortened by 10 years. His sins were so great that even after he died, he would still be punished and go to hell. He did not question or blame himself, but instead wanted to further his career.

What a foolish daydreamer Jiao Junming was! And how shameless that he even questioned the divine!

(Ming Dynasty story from Methods of Accumulating Blessing and Removing Misfortune)