Classic Chinese stories: Integrity

Integrity means being upstanding, self-restrained, pure and squeaky-clean. Being a spotless person and doing things honestly is called integrity. Only with integrity can one be fair-minded, and only then can things be done legally and in accordance with rules.

Zihan, an official of the State of Song (11th century-286 B.C.), was one such upright person. Once, someone found a precious jade and intended to give it to Zihan because the person said: “Jade can only be worn by noble people. Confucius asserted that ‘an honorable person is like a jade.’ This jade is most suitable for officials like Zihan to wear.”

But Zihan replied, “We both have treasures. Your treasure is this jade, while my treasure is being free from greed. If I accept your treasure, we both will lose our own. I can’t accept the jade, so please take it back.”

Chinese culture places a great emphasis on integrity. Every person should take integrity as the foundation of his or her life.

Zhonghang Wenzi, an official of the State of Jin (1033-376 B.C.), once fled to a town late at night. A gatekeeper told him: “Don’t be in such a hurry. There is one of your students here who used to work with you. He has great respect for you. Why don’t you take a break and stay overnight?”

Zhonghang replied: “You don’t know that he had given me the best guqin in the world because he knew I loved playing guqin. When he found I liked wearing jade, he then gave me the most brilliant jade. He did these just to gain my favor and seek my help for promoting him to important positions. Now I am worried that he might use me as a gift to please those who want to kill me.” So, Zhonghang soon left the town. As things turned out, the student intercepted the vehicles that followed behind Zhonghang and presented them to his new master.

The story of King Zhaoxiang of Qin (325-251 B.C.) is particularly impressive. The king fell ill, and many people bought cattle to sacrifice to the gods, praying for the king to recover quickly. At that time, cattle were very expensive. Minister Gongsun Shu saw this and returned to the palace. He reported to the king: “It was extraordinary that your majesty had a reputation greater than that of emperors Yao and Shun. People spontaneously bought cattle to sacrifice to the gods and pray for your majesty.”

Hearing this, the king sent people to investigate. Knowing it was true, he wasn’t happy at all and punished those who bought cattle to pray to the gods. Many people did not understand why they were being punished for praying for the king’s well-being.

The king said: “If I accept this, the governance of the country will be based on personal feelings. If that happens, laws cannot be established. Then, whenever one makes a mistake in the future, I would have to show mercy regardless of the law, which will ruin the law and lead the country to chaos and destruction. It’s better to cut off these personal feelings from today onwards and do everything according to the law, so that the country can be prosperous and stable.” This was the wise insight of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

(The author is a cultural scholar.)

(Translated by Cao Zhen)