Culture
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Rewarded with Virtuous and Talented Offspring for Being Charitable, Benevolent and Altruistic
2005-11-26
While he was there, he discovered an urn of gold in the ground. Instead of taking it as his own, he put the urn back where it was and hid it in the ground again. Later he became the prime minister and told the monks to remove the gold to renovate the temple. Surprisingly, the gold disappeared from the urn. There was nothing but a piece of paper detailing Fan Zhongyan’s resume as a government official and his salary. It turned out the sum of his salaries were identical to the value of the missing gold. Apparently the gold was a test on Fan from the gods and Fan had passed with flying colours. -
Consider Others First, Cultivate Your Inner Self and Never Blame Others
2005-11-23Ancient people also said, 'Love others, and others will love you; respect others, and others will respect you.' It is a principle that applies to human relationships in society; it is also true within a family." Ma Wenan told her about the great virtue and favour that parents give to their children. He also told classic stories about children respecting their parents in ancient China. -
Stories from Ancient China: Life Offered as Sacrifice for a Noble Cause Touches the Enemy's Heart
2005-11-20Soon after, the enemy entered the city. They asked Xun Jubo, "When our troops took the city, it was completely deserted. Who are you to dare to stay here alone?" Xun Jubo replied, "My friend is sick. I could not bring myself to leaving him. I would rather sacrifice my life in exchange for his." -
A Story about Retribution: Harming Others is Harming Oneself; a Robber in This Life, a Slave in the Next
2005-11-18When both men were in the mountain and no one was around, Zhao Huan took out his knife and tried to kill his nephew, saying that he wanted revenge for the injustice of three generations. Zhao Xian ran into the woods to a temple made from hay. As Zhao Huan followed, an old monk stopped him and asked him what he wanted. Zhao Huan declared, "I want to kill my enemy." The old monk laughed out loud, "What enemy? You are your own enemy. Wait a minute, I will let you know your past life stories. After that you will be able to see who the bad guy really is." -
Stories from Ancient China: The Story of “Kind Person’s Bridge”
2005-11-16She said, “We are luckily that you have given us instructions where to build a good house. Since then, our farm has done very well. All our family members are happy and healthy. Our life is really good. We have always wanted to find you and give our thanks to you. To our surprise, you are here again.” She then prepared a banquet to honour him. She requested all her family members to personally thank him one by one. The fengshui master was deeply confused. He felt bad about what he had done before and grew quiet. -
Stories from Ancient China: Qin Hui the Stinker
2005-11-15The crowd surrounded the Futai and was determined to drag him to go and have a look. The Futai had no other choice but to sit on the large sedan chair carried by eight people and they came to the West Lake. A few li’s (the distance unit used by Chinese people. 1 li = 500 meters, or 0.3 mile) away from the lakefront, he smelled a strong odour blowing straight to the sedan chair. Luckily he hadn’t eaten breakfast in the morning because he didn’t get a chance. Even then he barely managed to hold back the vomit. -
Greed without Virtue Leads to Disaster
2005-11-14His wife said to him, "If one is not capable, but assumes a high ranking position, he can only do harm; if one accumulates wealth without merit, he is accumulating potential disaster. Now you are accumulating more and more wealth just because you are greedy. I heard there is a leopard in the South Mountain who was hiding in the foggy rainy for seven days to moisten its fur and help it to grow spots, so that it can better avoid being harmed. If a pig eats everything and gets fat, it will be soon butchered. You do not cultivate virtue but our family is getting wealthy day by day. We are doomed to face disaster." -
Stories from Ancient China: Being an Upright, Honest, and Trustworthy Person
2005-11-13His son nodded his head and looked as if he had finally understood his father. Liang Guozhi continued, “Being honest is the first step to become a good person. Only a person who does not lie and is honest can become an open and upright person.” -
Fun With Yuan Dynasty Songs: “Lamb on the Hill” by Chen Caoan
2005-11-10Take Chen Caoan for an example. He was a Han that rose to the post of Deputy Prime Minister. Even a Deputy Prime Minister experienced the pain of discrimination, let alone common Han civilians and peasants. Chen Caoan expressed his misery using sarcasm and black humour, but the humour in the poem made the poet’s sadness become more apparent. Readers are likely to find the poem mildly amusing but feel terribly sad for the poet. -
Fun with Tang Dynasty Poetry: “Self Understanding”
2005-11-09Fang Guan was said to be a Zen Buddhist in his last life, Wang Wei claims himself to be a painter in his previous life.I too observe my fates in past lives, Finding my predestined relationship with poetry more than once.That explains why I create poems like crazy, And wrote even more in sickness than when I was well. -
Preface to the “Fun with Yuan Dynasty Songs” Series
2005-11-08In sharp contrast with Tang Dynasty Poetry and Song Dynasty Lyric Verse, Yuan Dynasty Songs are full of life and their language is very animated. They also allow richer and more colourful expressions. Moreover, they are distinctly more beautiful when recited or sung because of their more perfected rhyming. When they first become acquainted with Yuan Dynasty Songs, readers who are used to reading Tang Dynasty Poetry and Song Dynasty Lyric Verse often find Yuan Dynasty Songs very refreshing. -
Suffering Loss is a Blessing
2005-11-06Lin Tuizhai told them, "I don't have much to say. As long as you learn to be forbearing, that will be enough. Since ancient times, there have been lots of heroes who failed in many things only because they couldn't endure a loss! Since ancient times, there were also many heroes who have achieved many things only because they were able to endure the shame and suffering of loss! For example, Han Xin endured the shame of crawling under a thug's legs, but later he was able to become a great general and be conferred as Sanqi King by Liu Bang, while the youth in Huaiyin who insulted him earlier in life became his subordinate." -
Stories from Ancient China: True to His Word
2005-10-31He told the guests not to start having their meal right away, saying, "Let's wait for Zhuo Shu for a while." The guests were all puzzled and said, "Huiji is one thousand miles away from here and there are rivers and lakes separating Huiji and Jianye. How can you be certain that he will be sure to come back at this time?" While the guests were saying this, Zhuo Shu arrived as scheduled. The guests were very surprised. -
Respecting A Teacher As A Father
2005-10-29"A teacher is one who lectures on principles, teaches skills, and dispels confusion." This is the explanation given by Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty. One's life is given by his or her parents. How to live one's life and how to conduct oneself mostly depends on teachers. In Chinese, "teacher" (Shi) and "father" (Fu) are combined into the phrase "master" (Shi Fu). Since ancient times, there has been a saying that goes "He who teaches me for a day, is my father for life." That is to say, one should treat one's teacher with respect and humility. -
"If its Source is Pure, the Water Will be Clean" - Ruling the Country by Earning the Trust and Confidence of the People
2005-10-23The Taizong Emperor said to Feng Deyi, "Whether the running water is clean or filthy is determined by the source of the water. The ruler is the source of the government and people are like the water. If the ruler is deceptive while asking his subjects to be fair and upright, it is like expecting the water to be clean while the source is filthy. This does not make sense. I often think that the Weiwu Emperor is a deceitful man and I deeply despise the way he conducts himself. How could he set a good example with that kind of behaviour?"
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