Li Si's hamster philosophy comes from "The Biography of Li Si". The original text is:
Li Si was a native of Cai on Chu. When he was young, he was a county official. He was frightened when he saw rats eating unclean food in the toilets of the officials' houses and approaching people and dogs. When he entered the barn, he saw the rats in the barn, eating and accumulating millet, living under the large veranda, and seeing no worries about humans or dogs. So Li Sinai sighed and said: "The virtuous and unworthy people are like rats, it depends on where they are!"
The vernacular translation is:
Li Si, a young man from Shangcai in the Chu Kingdom When I was working as a clerk in the county, I saw that the rats in the toilet where the clerk lived were filthy and could eat unclean things. Whenever someone or a dog approached, the rats were always frightened and frightened.
After that, he went to the granary and saw another mouse in the granary. The mouse in the granary was fat and ate food. He was not afraid of people, swaggering and leisurely.
Suddenly Li Si sighed with emotion: Whether a person is talented or not is like a mouse, it just depends on what kind of environment he is in.
Extended information
Li Si spent most of his life practicing Legalist thought. After he was re-employed by the King of Qin, he assisted the King of Qin in completing the great cause of unifying the six countries with his outstanding political talents and foresight, and complied with the trend of historical development.
After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, Li Si was promoted to prime minister. He continued to assist Qin Shihuang and made outstanding contributions in consolidating the Qin Dynasty's regime, safeguarding national unity, and promoting economic and cultural development. He suggested that Qin Shi Huang abolish the feudal system and implement the system of prefectures and counties. He also put forward suggestions for unifying the written language, and later made great efforts to unify laws, currency, weights and measures, and railway tracks.