During the Southern Song Dynasty, a minister named Hong Hao (posthumous name Zhongxuan, 1088-1155), who was praised as a loyal and upright official, was often compared to Su Wu of the Han Dynasty. Yet few people today know of him.
Willing to exchange one life for ten thousand lives
Hong Hao was born in the late Northern Song period. He studied diligently from a young age and passed the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Zhenghe era (1115). During Emperor Huizong’s Xuanhe reign, he served as the official responsible for Xiuzhou (modern-day Jiaxing, Zhejiang), a region that frequently experienced natural disasters.
One year, a great flood struck Xiuzhou. Farmland was destroyed, homes were submerged, and starving civilians cried out in desperation. Many fled the area, hoping to survive. Seeing this, Hong Hao immediately ordered the granaries opened and sold grain to the victims at remarkably low prices. This helped many families survive the earliest days of the disaster.
But as the crisis worsened, the grain stores neared depletion. At that moment, a shipment of imperial grain from eastern Zhejiang happened to pass through Xiuzhou. Hong Hao urged the governor to intercept the grain to save the people. The governor refused — using imperial grain without permission was considered stealing from the emperor, a crime that could cost them their lives.
Hong Hao spoke with unwavering resolve: “I am willing to exchange my life for the lives of ten thousand people.”
…
Read the full article on Nspirement
Comments