Tangtaizong said, "That is true, indeed. When I am doing something wrong, you need to admonish me as soon as I begin. I found that in previous dynasties some emperors did not like to hear their officials admonish them. They always said, 'It is done already,' or 'I have given my consent already,' and did not want to correct themselves. In this way, how could they avoid failing?"

Ms. Zhang is an Australia Citizen, and has been a tireless ambassador for human rights, since the conclusion of her eight-month long experience of torture and incarceration in Chinese prisons, for peacefully appealing the communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong.

Lotus flowers grow out of mud yet remain pure and unpolluted. They are called the 'true gentlemen of flowers'. Poems about lotus flowers started to appear in China three or four thousand years ago. Legend has it that the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss is filled with lotus flowers whose majestic beauty cannot be described in words.

Lian Po thought of his achievements in battle and compared himself to Lin Xiangru, who was born in a humble family. How could Lin Xiangru be placed higher in rank than he simply because of his ability to talk? Lian Po felt quite distressed and claimed repeatably that, if he ever met up with Lin Xiangru, he would teach him a lesson and dishonour him to his face. Against his expectations, he never saw Lin Xiangru whenever he went to the court, making him even more furious.

After Zhao Kuangyin became the emperor, he once asked Cao, “In the past, I always wanted to get to know you better. Why did you deliberately keep your distance and stay away from me?” Cao Bin replied, “I was a close relative of the former Zhou emperor and was also an official in his court. I was concentrating on fulfilling my duties and not making any mistakes. How did I dare to befriend Your Majesty?” The Emperor thought even more highly of him because of his honest answer.

"The Emperor's greed destroys his country while an official's greed destroys his body." This was what Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, used to exhort his government officials not to take bribes or practise graft, and to caution himself. Emperor Taizong and his officials managed to rule the country by virtue and, through this, bring peace and stability. Together they made the Great Tang Dynasty one of the most prosperous in China's history.

Ji Xiaolan remarked, “Out of all the major character flaws, there is almost nothing worse than being arrogant and fearless, thinking one has things that he can rely on. People who rely on their wealth are often defeated because of their wealth. People who rely on their power are often defeated because of their power. People who rely on wisdom are often defeated because of their wisdom. People who rely on their strength are often defeated because of their strength."

On that occasion, the priest was delighted and spoke amicably with Li Linfu: “I have been in this human world for five hundred years and saw your name listed in the register of deities. If you cultivate, you will rise up to heaven in broad daylight to be a deity. If you do not wish to be a deity, you will be a prime minister with great powers for twenty years. You go home today and give it some thought. Three days later, at the fifth watch we shall meet again.”

If you really study, then even the most challenging subject can become easy. On the other hand, if you don't want to study, then even the easiest assignment becomes difficult. If one relies on his own intellect and educational background but refuses to study more, then the person will destroy his future. Those who refused to be discouraged by their own average intelligence and capability and continued to learn did obtain success through their own efforts.

A lot of virtuous men in ancient China valued virtue and loyalty above material gain. They thought little of their own fortune while being enthusiastic about giving charity to others. They were content with a simple, minimal lifestyle and would try their best to help people in need unconditionally, even strangers.

One time, the Ping King of Jin asked scholar Qi Huangyang, "Nanyang County needs a governor. Who is most capable for that position?" Qi Huangyang answered, "Xie Hu is the most capable." The King asked, "Isn't Xie Hu your enemy?" Qi Huangyang replied, "Your Majesty asked me who is the most capable of being the governor, not who is my enemy." The Ping King exclaimed, "Great." When Xie Hu was appointed the governor of Nanyang County, all the people in Jin highly praised him.

When Shi Yinchi returned to Chu, the king was about to attack Song. Ambassador Shi said to the king, "We should not attack Song. Their king is wise, and their prime minister is kind. These wise rulers have won the love of their people, and the kind prime minister has the support of talented people. If we attack them, we will fail and the people of the world will laugh at us."

There were two pots full of water in the yard. The recluse hermit pointed to one of them: “If this pot had a tiny ant-like hole on its bottom that leaked water, but you poured a litre of water out of the other pot every day. Which pot do you reckon will become empty first?”

"One day I put one of my fingers into the nest, and the baby swallows tried to eat my finger. I took three large thorny seeds and gave each baby swallow a thorny seed. They died shortly afterwards. When the mother swallow returned and saw her dead babies, she wailed sadly and flew away. To this day, every time I think of it, I still regret killing the three baby swallows."

Duke Huan of Qi said, "It is not true. If he were investigated, I am afraid that people would talk about his small imperfections, and we would overlook his talent and virtue. This is precisely why some kings cannot keep the world's talented people. Furthermore, no one is perfect. We should consider his merits more." He immediately ordered Guan Zhong, the Prime Minister of Qi, to welcome Ning Qi and appoint him as a minister. Ning Qi did not disappoint anyone and demonstrated his many skills

"If we progress one foot, that is our own one foot; if we progress one inch, that is our own one inch. If we accumulate one bit of virtue, it is equal to accumulating one pound of grain; if we progress by studying one bit tomorrow, it is equal to saving one penny. When we increase both virtue and study, then our family can become more prosperous day by day."

All of King Xuan's guards blamed Yan Chu. "The king rules a nation. You, Yan Chu, are just a subject of the kingdom. The king asked you to come over, and then you asked the king to come over. What kind of behaviour is this?" Yan Chu said, "If I go there, I am greedy for power. However, if the king comes here, he treats a gentleman scholar courteously. It is better to let our king obtain the fame of treating a gentleman courteously, rather than to let me suffer the reputation of currying favour with powerful people."

After his father died, his stepmother stashed away her husband's money for herself and gave it all to her own son. Furthermore, she gave all the good farmland to her own son and left only a small lot of infertile land to Wu Zitian, who was very angry and argued with his stepbrother. His wife, Sun, again persuaded him not to offend his stepmother over the uneven division of their inherited property.

Zhang Tingyu from the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 A.D.) once said, "Everything in the world is the result of destiny. No one can escape his destiny. Each man has a predetermined lifespan and medicine cannot alter anyone's lifespan." Why did Zhang Tingyu make such a comment? Here's the story:

Fang Xiaoru was an eminent scholar of Song dynasty neo-Confucianism, and a writer in the early Ming dynasty. He was very knowledgeable and talented. In the era of Hongwu, he served as tutor for the crown prince. Later he was summoned to the Inner Court as academic adviser to the Emperor. Fang Xiaoru wrote a famous article titled, "Zhi Yu" to explain, "in worldly matters, minor things can develop into major calamities," which uses illness as an analogy in cautioning people to prevent serious problems before they occur.

She stated in Women’s Precepts that, the characters of yin and yang are different, and therefore man and woman’s behaviour should be different too. Yang is characterised with strength, and yin is symbolised with delicacy. Therefore, while a man is honoured for being strong and healthy, and woman is considered beautiful for being gentle and delicate.

The day after that, Xu Gong came to visit Zou Ji, so Zou Ji took the opportunity to compare himself with Xu Gong. Carefully he examined himself in front of the mirror, and he realised Xu Gong was better looking than him. There was no match with him. At night while sleeping, finally the truth dawned on him. He realised that his wife said that he was better looking than Xu Gong, because she loved him and because she was afraid of him. His guest had said that he was more handsome because he wished to seek something from him.

Wenhou's footman asked him, "Why do you salute?" Wenhou answered, "Isn't this Duan Ganmu's house? Mr. Duan Ganmu is a highly virtuous person, how can I dare not salute him?" He also commented, "Mr. Duan Ganmu's glory is earned by his virtue, but my glory is earned by owning a large amount of land; Mr. Duan Ganmu has integrity, and I only have wealth. Owning land cannot compare to owning virtue; wealth cannot be compared with integrity, so I should pay him respect."

On that day, the lazy man who had never done any honest work before suddenly had an impulse to do something. When everyone ran back home from the field, he did the opposite. He took a hoe and told everyone that he wanted to see the field. His family thought that his action was very strange. His family urged him to stay at home, saying it was too dangerous. He didn't listen, so his family cursed at him, saying, "Then go and let the lightning kill you!"

Xianzhang came in. Qijinggong said to him, "Xianzhang, since we lost Yanzi 17 years ago, no one has pointed out my shortcomings and mistakes. My arrow did not hit the target today, but every single one of my senior officials praised me." Xianzhang answered, "Your senior officials do not have the courage to admonish you. I have heard it said that, 'Ministers like to wear what the king wears and eat what the king eats.' Do you like to hear flattering words?"

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.

He knows that he is wasting away his life every day by drinking and that he has to find a solution to his problem. He thinks of freeing himself and going to a mountain to pursue Taoist cultivation practise with the purpose of completing the cultivation of dan and attaining godhood and a worry-free existence in paradise. He does not care if ordinary people can understand or approve of his choice or not. It does not even matter to him if some people choose to laugh at his choice! “Let them be!” the poet commented.

She stated in Women’s Precepts that, the characters of yin and yang are different, and therefore man and woman’s behaviour should be different too. Yang is characterised with strength, and yin is symbolised with delicacy. Therefore, while a man is honored for being strong and healthy, and woman is considered beautiful for being gentle and delicate.

Ancient 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.

Soon 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."

Emperor Tang Taizong said to his cabinet, "The extreme climate is the result of my lack of virtue; my rule is not based on virtue. Therefore we are being punished. What have the people done wrong to deserve this hardship? I have heard that people sell their sons and daughters for money. I feel very sad!" He then dispatched cabinet member Du Yan to survey the drought area. He bought back the children with the Emperor's personal money and returned them to their parents.

When 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."

She 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.

The 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.

His 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."

His 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.”