邓质方近况

Chants of Autumn

Confucius said: "The Way is not far from people. If people practice the Way and distance themselves from others, they cannot be considered the Way. The Book of Songs says: 'Cut the wood, chop the wood, its principle is not far away.' Holding a stick to chop wood, looking at it from a distance, it still seems far away. Therefore, a gentleman governs people by their own way, and stops when he changes. Loyalty and forgiveness are not far from the Way. If you do not want to do it yourself, do not do it to others. There are four ways of a gentleman, and I have not been able to do any of them. What I ask of my son is to serve my father, but I have not been able to do it; what I ask of my minister is to serve my king, but I have not been able to do it; what I ask of my younger brother is to serve my elder brother, but I have not been able to do it; what I ask of my friends is to give them first, but I have not been able to do it. The actions of a mediocre person are cautious; if there is something that is lacking, he dare not not try hard, and if there is something that is more than enough, he dare not use it all; if he speaks, he will act accordingly, and if he acts, he will act accordingly. Why does a gentleman not have to be frank!"

Youth

In this month, take care of the elderly, give them a stick, and eat porridge. He ordered the clothing department to make sure that clothes were embroidered with regular patterns, with different sizes and lengths. Clothes had to be measured and must be made according to their origins, and hats and belts had to be worn regularly. He ordered the officials to enforce strict punishments and to execute people appropriately without any irregularities. If they were irregularities, they would suffer the consequences.

Cupid is late

Zheng Xuan wanted to annotate the Spring and Autumn Annals, but had not yet finished it. On his way, he and Fu Zishen met each other and stayed in a guest house. They had not met before. Fu was in the carriage outside and told him about his annotations. Xuan listened for a long time and found most of the ideas he had. Xuan got on the carriage and said to Fu, "I have wanted to annotate it for a long time, but I haven't finished it yet. From what you said just now, I found that most of your comments are in line with mine. Now I will tell you all my comments." Then he annotated it for Fu.

My God's Name

Wang Shuang was drinking with Sima Taifu. The Grand Tutor was drunk and called the king "boy." The king said, "My late grandfather, the Chief Secretary, was a friend of Emperor Jianwen. My late aunt and sister were married and had two concubines. How can they be called boys?"

Thin Qing

There was a Taoist from the north who was good at reasoning. He met Mr. Lin at the Wuguang Temple and they talked about sketches. At that time, Zhu Fashen and Sun Xinggong all listened together. This Taoist raised many difficult questions, and Mr. Lin answered them clearly and analytically, with a refreshing tone. This Taoist always crushes the weak. Sun asked Mr. Shen: "Master, you must be in a difficult situation, why have you never said anything?" Mr. Shen smiled but did not answer. Mr. Lin said, "The white sandalwood is fragrant, so how can it go against the wind?" Mr. Shen understood the meaning and was disdainful.

Maids in power