Second, honesty: from tradition to modernity
Honesty is an important concept of ethical philosophy put forward by pre-Qin Confucianists, and it is also an important category in the history of China's ethical thought. It was not until the period of Confucius that "honesty" was formed as a theoretical concept. Mencius not only formed a theoretical concept, but also had a very important position. He said: "it is sincere, and heaven is also; If you think sincerely, you will learn from others. Those who are sincere and motionless are not there; If you are dishonest, there will be no porters. " Here, honesty is not only the highest category of the ontology of heaven, but also the law and know-how of being a man. Xunzi developed the thought of "sincerity" and pointed out that "sincerity is the foundation of politics". He said; "The heavens and the earth are big, and dishonesty cannot change everything; As the saints know, if you are dishonest, you can't turn to the public; Father and son are close relatives, and dishonesty is sparse; Jun Jing, if you are not sincere, you are humble, your husband is sincere, and the gentleman keeps it. The foundation of politics is also. " In The Doctrine of the Mean, "honesty" has become the core category of etiquette and the highest realm of life: "Only honesty in the world can make the best use of it; If you can do your best, you can do your best; If you can make good use of human nature, you can make good use of things; If you can make the best use of it, you can praise the teaching of heaven and earth; If you can praise the cultivation of heaven and earth, you can go to heaven and earth. " As sincere as a god, with sincere moral character and attitude, you can infiltrate a variety of benevolence and morality, become an adult, and even achieve the nature of human beings and things, praise heaven and earth for practicing together with heaven and earth, and achieve the realm of "harmony between man and nature". The University regards "sincerity" as one of the eight items, namely, respecting things, knowing and doing, being sincere, cultivating one's morality, keeping the family in order, and governing the country. "Honesty" has become an important link for sages to abide by God's will, cultivate one's morality, and govern the country and the world. In the Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi further believed that "honesty" was "the foundation of the five permanent members and the source of all things." Take "sincerity", including honesty, as the foundation of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith, and the beginning of all kinds of good deeds. Cheng Yi put it more bluntly, "You can do good even if you are not sincere", and his views are incisive.
Marxist ethics critically inherits the category of "honesty" and affirms that honesty is an important norm of social morality. In the long-term social life, the main moral requirements of honesty have gradually become clear: loyalty, integrity and honesty. The main purpose of loyalty is loyalty to the motherland, people and just cause. Of course, this kind of loyalty is not blind and narrow "foolish loyalty", but identifies with lofty ideals, pursues and makes unremitting efforts to realize these ideals, thus showing the spirit of being willing to contribute and being brave in sacrifice. Integrity means integrity, fairness and frankness. Honesty means telling the truth, doing honest things and being honest.
Faith is also the category of China's history of ethical thought. The meaning of "faith" is similar to "sincerity" and "truth". From the analysis of the glyph, the word faithfulness follows people's words, which originally refers to the sincere words to heaven and ancestors during sacrifice. Liang Ji, a doctor in the Sui Dynasty, said, "Be loyal to the people and believe in God" and "May history have correct remarks and trust." Later, due to the development of private economy and private thoughts, the original simple society was gradually destroyed. In the communication between countries and people, we must conclude an oath. However, the observance of vows and commitments still depends on the deterrence of the gods and spirits of heaven and earth. In the Spring and Autumn Period, under the advocacy of Confucianism, "faith" began to get rid of religious color and became a pure moral norm. Confucius believed that "faith" was the embodiment of "benevolence", and he asked people to "respect things and believe". He said, "If you believe, you will do whatever you want" and "If you don't believe, you don't know what you can do". Confucius and Mencius regarded "trust" as an important principle of making friends, emphasizing that "friends believe in their existence" and "friends believe in their absence". Most authorities in past dynasties regarded "trust" as an important tool to maintain order. "Zuo Wen Zhuan's Four Years" said: "Abandoning faith and damaging its owner will lead to chaos in the country." "Your Letter in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu" makes an incisive analysis of the consequences of faith and unbelief in social life: "If the monarch and the minister don't believe it, the people will slander and the country will be uneasy. If officials don't believe in it, they will be less afraid of growing up and look down on each other. If you don't believe in rewards and punishments, people will easily break the law and can't ban it. If you don't believe in making friends, you will be separated from your troubles and can't date each other. If all the workers don't believe it, the equipment will suffer, and if it is fake, the paint will be disloyal. The husband can follow it, take it as the end, respect it, be humble and poor, and believe only! " In the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu listed "faithfulness" and benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom as "five permanents" and regarded them as the most basic social behavior norms. And the "letter" is discussed in detail: "I try to write my feelings without modification, so it is also a letter." He believes that "faith" needs to be honest, consistent in appearance and consistent in words and deeds. Zhu proposed that "benevolence embraces the five permanents" and regarded "faithfulness" as the function and expression of "benevolence", which is mainly the way to make friends. He said: "Honesty is the foundation", which is basically consistent with Confucius and Mencius. In Confucianism, honesty is often used as a concept. The meanings of "faithfulness, sincerity", "sincerity" and "faithfulness" are very similar.
From this point of view, traditional ethics regards honesty as a basic quality of human beings, and believes that honesty is a good strategy to win people's trust and the cornerstone of success. In short, this is the rule of personal life.
Third, stories related to honesty.
1, Ceng Zi kills pigs.
Ceng Zi's wife went to the market, and her son went with her, crying as he walked. Mother said to him, "Go home. When I come back, I'll kill the pig for you." His wife came back from the market and Ceng Zi wanted to catch some pigs to kill them. His wife stopped him and said, "It's just a joke with the children." Ceng Zi said, "Never joke with children. Children are ignorant at first, so they should learn from their parents and listen to their instructions. Now if you lie to him, you are teaching your children to lie. If the mother deceives the child and the child does not believe the mother, it is impossible to teach the child well. " Ceng Zi then killed the pig.
2. Guo Moruo and Banana Flower
Guo Moruo was naughty when he was a child, but he was very filial. Once, his mother got carsick. Guo Moruo heard that plantain flower can cure this disease. This kind of flower is very expensive and seldom blooms, so he and his brother ran to a garden to look for it. It happened that the plantain in that garden had a big yellow flower, and Guo Moruo and his brother secretly picked it and gave it to their mother. Although the mother knew that Guo Moruo was filial to her, her son's behavior made him sad. Since then, Guo Moruo has never stolen anything from others.
Fourth, the role of honesty.
From a philosophical point of view, "honesty" is not only a world outlook, but also a social value and moral concept, which is of great significance and role to society and individuals.
For a country and a society, "honesty" can be said to be the foundation of the country. The main body of the country is the people, and the sovereignty of the country also belongs to the people. Since ancient times, China has had the motto that "the people are the foundation of the country, and the foundation is the foundation of the country" and "those who win the hearts of the people will win the world, and those who lose the hearts of the people will lose the world". These words are still words of wisdom today. But what do national leaders rely on to unite the people? Relying on wise policies and spiritual beliefs, "honesty" is a humanistic spirit and moral belief that wins the trust of the people and condenses people's hearts.
For a social unit (such as an enterprise) and a social undertaking (such as an industry or a profession), "honesty" can be said to be the foundation of a career. "Honesty", as a universally applicable moral norm and code of conduct, is a moral lever to establish a benign interactive relationship of mutual trust and mutual benefit among industries, units and people. It's hard to imagine that a unit or enterprise that doesn't stress honesty and keep promises will stand for a long time in a modern society ruled by law. Only by relying on honesty can a social undertaking develop smoothly.
For every member of society, "honesty" is the foundation of our existence and the treasure of our life. After decades of life, we should constantly learn to acquire and enhance knowledge. Knowledge is not only a tool for individuals to make a living, but also a tool for individuals to serve the society. However, it is not enough to be a person who really contributes to society, but also must be guided by correct values. Otherwise, knowledge may become a tool to breed evil. The spirit of "honesty" is an important moral criterion to cultivate people's noble moral sentiments and guide people to correctly handle various relationships. If an individual is honest, he will be selfless, pay attention to credit, obey the law, accept the contract, win the trust of others, and properly handle the relationship between good people and individuals and society.
It can be said that the principle and spirit of "honesty" is the moral cornerstone to promote the healthy development of socialist market economy; It not only plays an important role in promoting social stability and prosperity, guiding social customs and curing social psychological diseases, but also plays an important role in strengthening the personal moral cultivation of social members, improving the civilized quality of the whole nation and cultivating a generation of knowledgeable, productive, moral and law-abiding citizens. It is the foundation of founding a country and establishing a career, and it is also a spiritual magic weapon for individuals to settle down.
Five, how to abide by integrity
If we teenagers want to abide by honesty, we must take responsibility and obligation for what we say, and we must keep our promises. You must do what you promised others. Make an appointment with others and be sure to arrive on time. Be sure to arrive on time for school or various activities. You know, commitment is a very cautious behavior. You can't easily promise what you shouldn't or can't do. Once you promise, you should try your best to realize it. If we break our promises to others, we will degrade ourselves. If the situation changes in the process of fulfilling the promise, so that it is impossible to fulfill the promise, you must truthfully explain the situation to the other party and apologize. This is completely different from breaking promises, and building integrity needs to start from scratch.
We should not only inherit and carry forward the traditional virtue of abiding by honesty, but also distinguish between "loyalty in Jianghu" and abiding by honesty, recognize the essence and harm of "loyalty in Jianghu", not be polluted by this bad habit left over from the old society, and abide by honesty. Text [/c]
Honesty is the basic principle of being a man and doing things, and it is also the norm that must be observed in governing the country, regulating the relationship between people and maintaining social order.
Being a man needs honesty, and honesty wins dignity; Doing business also needs honesty, and honesty wins the market.
(A) integrity is the moral fulcrum to support society.
Honesty is one of the important contents of traditional moral culture in China. "Honesty is the key to the world code of conduct." In Chinese traditional Confucian ethics, honesty is regarded as the condition of governing the country and calming the world and an important moral norm that must be observed. Ancient sages and philosophers have many explanations for honesty. For example, Confucius said, "since ancient times, people have died, and people have no faith." "People have no faith and don't know what they can do." "People are honest." Mencius' theory of honesty: "Those who are sincere but don't move have nothing; If you are dishonest, no one can move "; Xunzi thought that "cultivating the mind is not good at sincerity"; Mozi said: "Without strong will, there is no wisdom, and those who don't believe in will will fail. "Lao Tzu regards honesty as an important criterion of life behavior:" If it is light, you will make a promise, if it is heavy, you will break your promise, if it is light, it will be easy, but if it is heavy, it will be difficult "; Zhuangzi also attached great importance to sincerity: "The true person is sincere. Not refined and sincere, not moving. "Zhuangzi regards" authenticity "as the ultimate sincerity, and it is not touching if it is not sincere, which raises sincerity to a new level; Han Feizi believes that "cleverness is not as good as sincerity". In a word, ancient sages and philosophers praised honesty as a noble virtue, which vividly showed the value and position of honesty in the eyes of China people. Since ancient times, people have attached great importance to the principle of honesty. The reason is that honesty is the basic moral norm that should be followed in the relationship between people. Without honesty, there can be no morality. Therefore, honesty is the fulcrum to support social morality.
(2) Honesty is the morality of legal norms.
The principle of good faith gradually rose from Roman law to a legal principle, and was later inherited and developed by important civil laws in legal history, such as French civil law, German civil law and Swiss civil law. For example, Article 2 of the General Principles of the Swiss Civil Code stipulates: "Everyone must exercise his rights and fulfill his obligations honestly."
Honesty and credit is also an important basic principle of China's current laws, which are clearly stipulated in the General Principles of Civil Law, Contract Law and Consumer Protection Law. Because of its wide scope of application, it plays a guiding and commanding role in other legal principles, so it is also called the "imperial law". It can be seen that "honesty and credit" is not a general moral standard. When honesty and credit become legal norms, violating it will be a legal responsibility, or a legal consequence that is not conducive to oneself. This legal consequence can be property or personal. It can be civil, administrative or even criminal. Therefore, honesty is the fulcrum of law supporting society and the morality of legal norms.
(3) Honesty is the key to governing the country.
Integrity in politics can win the trust of the people and make people convinced. If you break your word, hide your eyes and ears, and practise fraud, there will be no social stability. In ancient times, there was a crime of "deceiving the monarch", which not only offended dignity, but also misled decision-making and harmed the country and people. Nor can it "dominate the market", so there is a saying that "water can carry a boat and also overturn it". In ancient China, there were many stories about Shang Yang's belief in trees, and there were also princes who did not pay attention to honesty and took their own consequences. Ancient thinkers in China regarded "honesty" as one of the main means to rule the world. Wei Zhi in the Tang Dynasty described honesty as "the key to governing the country", which shows the importance of honesty.
At present, the "ruling the country by virtue" put forward by the Party and the country is the embodiment of clean politics, and it is also the inheritance and development of China's excellent political thought. Implementing "ruling the country by virtue", implementing the "Implementation Outline of Citizen Moral Construction" and advocating the spiritual quality of honesty and trustworthiness in the whole society are the inheritance of fine traditions and the requirements of the times.
(D) Integrity is the foundation of the industry.
Honesty is the way to be a man, the foundation of standing, and the basis of mutual trust between people. Speaking of credibility and keeping promises is a constraint and requirement for oneself, and also a hope and requirement for outsiders. If an employee can't be honest and trustworthy, then the social groups or economic entities he represents can't gain people's trust, can't have economic exchanges with society, or lack appeal and responsiveness to society. Therefore, honesty and trustworthiness is not only a social morality, but also a professional ethics that any employee should abide by.
As a professional ethics, honesty and trustworthiness, for an industry, its basic function is to establish a good reputation and a trustworthy industry image. It reflects that the society recognized the value of an industry in the past professional activities, thus affecting the position and role of the industry in future activities. "People can't stand without faith", for an industry, only by keeping promises and stressing morality can we fundamentally do a good job in the industry brand and establish a good industry image.
Zeng butcher
Ceng Zi is a student of Confucius. Once, Ceng Zi's wife was going to the market. Because the child was crying, Ceng Zi's wife promised to help him kill the pig when he came back. After Ceng Zi's wife came back from the market, Ceng Zi caught pigs and killed them. His wife stopped him and said, "I'm just joking with the children." Ceng Zi said, "You can't joke with children. If children are not sensible, they should learn from their parents and listen to their instructions. Now you are coaxing him, that is, teaching children to lie. " So Ceng Zi killed the pig. Ceng Zi knew that honesty and trustworthiness were the basic principles of being a man. If you don't kill the pig by mistake, the pig at home will be saved, but it will leave an indelible shadow on the mind of a pure child.
Han Xin repaid his kindness.
Han Xin, the founding hero of the Han Dynasty, lived with his brother and sister-in-law when he was a child and lived on leftovers. Little Han Xin helps his brother during the day and studies hard at night, but his mean sister-in-law still hates his reading, and thinks it is useless to read. So Han Xin had to sleep on the street, hungry. There is an old lady who works as a servant for others. She sympathized with him, supported him in his studies and gave him food every day. Facing the sincerity of the old woman, Han Xin was very grateful. He said to the old man, "I must repay you when I grow up." The old woman smiled and said, "I'll bury it when you grow up." Later, Han Xin became a famous soldier and was named King of Chu by Liu Bang. He still remembers the old man who helped him. So he found the old man, took him to his palace and treated her like his mother.
The story of China's ancient honesty: Huangfu's achievements, trustworthiness and accountability
Huangfuji was a famous minister in Sui Dynasty. His father died when he was three years old, and his mother was unable to support his family, so she took him back to her family. Grandpa loves Huangfu very much because he is smart and has no father.
My grandfather's name is Wei Xiaokuan, and the Wei family is a famous family in the local area. The family is very rich. Because there are many children going to school at home, my grandfather invited a teacher and set up his own school, which was called a private school at that time. Huang Fuji; My cousin and I go to my own school.
Grandpa is a very strict old man, especially for his grandchildren. When the private school was first set up, it was stipulated that anyone who did not finish his homework without reason would have to retype twenty boards according to the family law.
One day, after class in the morning, Huang Fuji and his cousins hid in an abandoned small room to play chess. As soon as I played, it was time for class in the afternoon before I knew it. Everyone forgot to do the homework left by the teacher in the morning.
The next day, grandpa knew about it. He called his grandchildren to his study and gave them a good scolding. Then, according to the rules, everyone retyped twenty boards.
Grandpa is the youngest to see Huangfuji, and he is also very clever at ordinary times. Plus he doesn't have a father, so he can't bear to hit him. So I took him aside and said kindly, "You are still young, so I won't punish you this time. However, we can't make such mistakes again in the future. If you don't do your homework and learn your skills well, how can you achieve great things in the future? "
Huangfuji gets along well with his cousins, and his younger brothers love him very much. I am very happy to see that Xiao Huangfu has not been punished. However, Xiao Huangfu is very sad. My brothers and I made the same mistake and delayed our homework, he thought. It's a pity that grandpa didn't punish me. But I can't indulge myself. According to the rules of private cushion, I will be beaten again.
So, Huang Fuji found his cousins and asked them to beat him on behalf of his grandfather. Hearing this, the cousins all snorted and laughed. Huangfuji said solemnly, "This is the rule in private schools. We all promised grandpa that if we broke the rules, we would be punished, otherwise we would not keep our promise. You have all been punished according to the rules, and I am no exception. "
Cousins were moved by Huang fuji's spirit of abiding by school rules and sincerely reforming. So he took out a ruler and hit the first twenty boards of Huangfu.
Later, Huangfuji became a big official in the imperial court, but this moral character of keeping his promise and being brave in admitting his mistakes made him enjoy a high reputation among civil and military officials.
Take honesty as the bone
In fact, making a fuss is the same as being a man, so be honest with each other. An old writer wrote: "Writing articles takes heaven and earth as the heart and honesty as the bone." He regards the principles of sincerity and writing as his own, and presents his true feelings to readers, but he wants to be worthy of readers and his own conscience.
Nowadays, some people make up some articles in order to earn money, improve their popularity and expand their influence in society. This is actually deceiving readers and deceiving yourself.
The establishment of Yan Shu's reputation
Yan Shu, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, is famous for his honesty. At the age of fourteen, he was recommended to the emperor and became a child prodigy. The emperor summoned him and asked him to take the exam at the same time with more than 1000 Jinshi. As a result, Yan Shu found that she had just practiced the exam ten days ago, so she truthfully reported to Zhenzong and asked to change other topics. Song Zhenzong appreciated Yan Shu's honesty very much and named him "fellow scholar". When Yan Shu takes office, the world is at peace. Therefore, Beijing officials, large and small, often go to the suburbs or hold various banquets in restaurants and teahouses in the city. Yan Shu was poor and had no money to go out to eat, drink and have fun, so she had to read and write articles with her brothers at home. One day, Zhenzong promoted Yan Shu as the official of the East Palace who assisted the prince in his studies. Ministers were surprised and didn't understand why Zhenzong made such a decision. Zhenzong said, "Recently, the ministers often play and have banquets. Only Yan Shu studies behind closed doors, so she is cautious in self-esteem and is the best candidate for the East Palace official. " Yan Shu thanked him and said, "I am actually a person who likes to play and eat, but my family is poor." If I had money, I would have taken part in the banquet tour. " These two things made Yan Shu establish prestige in front of ministers, and Song Zhenzong trusted him more.
A Comparison of Different Stages between Taking Trees as the Letter and Bonfire Party
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin Shangyang presided over the political reform with the support of Qin Xiaogong. At that time, at a time of frequent wars and panic, in order to establish prestige and promote reform, Shang Yang ordered a 30-foot-long wood to be erected outside the south gate of the capital, and made a promise in public: whoever can move this wood to the north gate will be rewarded with twelve taels of silver. None of the onlookers believe that such an easy thing can get such a high reward, so no one is willing to try. So Shang Yang raised the reward to 50 gold. Under the four rewards, there must be brave people. Finally someone stepped forward and carried the wood to the north gate. Shang Yang immediately rewarded him with fifty gold. Shang Yang's move established prestige in the hearts of the people, and Shang Yang's next reform was quickly popularized in Qin State. The new law made the State of Qin stronger and eventually unified China.
It was also in the place where Shang Yang "established a tree as a letter" that a ridiculous farce of "playing a vassal in a bonfire" was staged 400 years ago.
There is a favorite princess in Zhou Youwang, whose name is Bos. In order to win her smile, Zhou Youwang ordered more than 20 beacon towers near the capital to light bonfires-bonfires are a signal of border warning, which can only be lit when foreign enemies invade and need to call the princes for help. As a result, as soon as the princes saw the bonfire, they led the soldiers to arrive in a hurry, realized that it was a trick set by the king to smile at his wife, and then left angrily. I finally smiled happily when I saw the usually prestigious princes at a loss. Five years later, another large-scale attack on Zhou, the bonfire of Youwang was rekindled, but the ministers were late-no one wanted to be fooled again. As a result, you Wang was forced to commit suicide and was praised and captured.
A "stand up and win the trust" promises 1000 yuan; An emperor didn't believe it and played the game of "wolf coming". As a result, the former succeeded in political reform and the country was strong; The latter, who brought shame on himself, died. It can be seen that "trust" plays a very important role in the rise and fall of a country.
Li Yu Ian recorded a story about losing his life because he broke his promise.
A businessman in Jiyang sank while crossing the river. He grabbed a hemp pole and shouted for help. A fisherman heard the sound. The businessman quickly shouted: "I am the richest man in Jiyang. If you can save me, I will give you 100 two gold. " . After being rescued ashore, the businessman turned his face and refused to admit it. He only gave the fisherman 10 two gold. The fisherman accused him of breaking his word and going back on his word. The rich man said, "You are a fisherman. I can't make much money in my life. Is it not enough to suddenly get twelve taels of gold? " My husband must be very unhappy. Unexpectedly, the rich man capsized in the same place again. Someone tried to save him, and the person he cheated said, "He is a man of his word!" " "So the merchant drowned. It is accidental that the businessman capsized twice and met the same husband, but it is expected that the businessman will not be rewarded. Because if a person does not keep his word, he will lose the trust of others. So, once he is in trouble, no one wants to rescue him. Those who break their promises to others, once in trouble, have to sit still.
Lu Bu's promise saved him from disaster.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was a man named Ji Bu. He kept his word and had a very high reputation. Many people have established a strong friendship with him. At that time, there was even a proverb: "It is better to get a hundred pounds of gold than to keep a promise." (This is the origin of the idiom "a promise is as good as a gold") Later, he offended Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu, and was offered a reward for his capture. As a result, his old friends not only were not confused by the heavy money, but also risked the extinction of Jiuzu to protect him from disaster. A person who is honest and trustworthy will naturally get a lot of help and gain everyone's respect and friendship. On the other hand, if you covet temporary comfort or petty advantages and lose trust in your friends, you will get "benefits" on the surface. But for this benefit, he ruined his reputation, which is much more important than material things. Therefore, breaking a promise to a friend is tantamount to losing a watermelon and picking up sesame seeds, which is not worth the loss.
Li Mian buried silver.
Li Mian, a native of the Tang Dynasty, liked reading books since he was a child. Pay attention to the requirements in the books. After a long time, it becomes a habit and cultivates an honest and elegant gentleman's demeanor.
Although he was born in poverty, he never took ill-gotten gains.
On one occasion, he went out to study and stayed in a hotel. I happened to meet a scholar who was going to Beijing to take an exam and lived there. As soon as they met, they often talked about the past and the present, discussed knowledge and became good friends.
One day, the scholar suddenly fell ill and was bedridden. Li Mian quickly invited a doctor for him, and helped him decoct medicine according to the doctor's advice, taking care of him to take medicine on time. For several days in a row, Li Mian took good care of patients' daily life such as daily life and diet. However, the scholar's condition has not improved, but has deteriorated day by day. Looking at his weak friend, Li Mian was very anxious. He often goes to nearby families to find remedies, and often goes to the mountains alone to dig herbs that pharmacies can't buy.
One evening, when Li Mian came back from digging medicine, he went to his friend's room first, and it seemed that the bookish color was better. His heart was full of joy. He approached the bed with concern and asked, "Brother, are you feeling better?"
The scholar said, "I don't think I have much time left." This may be a dead turn, and my brother has one more thing to ask before he dies. "
Li Mian quickly comforted: "Brother, don't be paranoid. Don't you look much better today? " As long as you rest quietly, you will be all right soon. You're welcome, brother. Please say anything. "
The scholar said, "Take out the small wooden box under my bed and help me open it."
Li Mian did as he said.
The scholar pointed to a bag inside and said, "Thanks to your meticulous care these days. This is one hundred and twenty pieces of silver, which was originally for the examination, but it is not needed now. After my death, please use some money to prepare a coffin for me and bury me, and give you the rest as my thanks. Please accept it, otherwise, my brother, I will not have peace in the grave. "
In order to reassure the scholar, Li Mian had to promise to accept the money.
The next morning, the scholar really passed away. Li Mian obeyed his last wish, bought a coffin and carefully arranged his funeral. There is still a lot of money left. Li Mian was useless at all, but wrapped it carefully and laid it quietly under the coffin.
Soon, the scholar's family took Li Mian's letter and rushed to the inn. After they moved out of the coffin, they found the silverware buried with them. Everyone was surprised. After learning the origin of silver, everyone was moved by Li Mian's noble character of being honest and trustworthy and not greedy for money.
Later, Li Mian became an official of the imperial court. He is still honest and self-disciplined, honest and self-controlled, deeply loved by the people and respected among civil and military officials.
Liang Guozhi Loongson
Liang Guozhi was born in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. He has been smart and studious since he was a child. But his family is poor, and his father wants him to give up his studies and do some small business to support his family. Liang Guozhi begged his father to study for a few more years. Neighbors saw it and thought it was a pity that Liang Guozhi didn't study, so they interceded, and some were willing to help him pay his tuition. The father is also looking forward to his son's future success and better family life. So he promised to let him continue his studies.
The villagers in the village are honest people with good hearts; Although they are not rich, they often help the poor Liang family. The whole village is looking forward to Liang Guozhi's future success and glory for their village. Little Zhuo Zhi knew that he must not live up to the expectations of the villagers, and he would study harder.
Because Liang Guozhi grew up in such a harmonious and friendly environment, he developed a kind, honest and upright character from an early age.
In 65438, Liang Guozhi won a grand prize at the age of seventeen. At the age of 24, he won the highest award again. After Liang Guozhi became an official in the imperial court, he never forgot his hometown elders and often used his own money to do things for the villagers. No matter where he goes to court, he thinks of the people and is very popular with them.
Liang Guozhi is not only knowledgeable and good in character, but also good at painting and calligraphy. Anyone who gets paintings and calligraphy works will collect them as treasures. Influenced by him, his son was interested in painting and calligraphy at an early age, clamoring for Liang Guozhi to teach him to paint.
One day, my son came to his father with a brush, and his face was covered with ink. Liang Guozhi wanted to laugh after seeing it, wiped his son's face, and then said to his son seriously, "Before you learn to draw, you must learn to be a man. Without personality, you will never be a good painter. "
The son raised his childish face and asked his father doubtfully, "What is the relationship between painting and being a man?"
Liang Guozhi said, "A real painter paints with his heart, not with a pen. If you are an upright gentleman, your paintings will be full of righteousness, making people feel full of gas at first glance. "
The son blinked, as if he didn't quite understand, so Liang Guozhi told an example of Qin Gui, a traitor in the Song Dynasty. He said: "Qin Gui is actually a very talented person. His handwriting is quite good, but he is a famous traitor in history with bad conduct. After his death, people gnashed their teeth at him as soon as they heard his name. No one wanted to collect his calligraphy works at that time. They all think that obeying his words will bring disaster. His works were either torn to pieces and thrown into the cesspit, or burned by people. There are very few words left by him now, and people hate his words because they hate him. "
The son nodded as if he understood. Liang Guozhi added: "Honesty is the first step in life. Only if you don't tell lies, people who keep their promises will stand up and be aboveboard. "
Hearing this, the son kept in mind his father's teachings and adhered to the character of honesty all his life. Later, he really became a well-respected and famous painter at that time.