Chinese Traditional Story: The Story of Tang Taizong

Hello everyone, the story I'm going to share today is the story of Tang Taizong. Tang Taizong was the second emperor of Tang dynasty. He was a great man with integrity and honesty and loved his people as if they were his own children. One year there was a plague of locusts. People had nothing to eat and many died of hunger. Taizong worried about this very much and he thought that there must be something he didn't do well, thus bringing about such a disaster. One day while Taizong was in his garden, he picked up a locust and put it into his mouth, seriously saying to the locusts, the grain is used to maintain my people's lives, but you have eaten them all up, killing my people. Even if my people made mistakes and were punished by heaven, that is only because of me, the emperor, but they now do well. Do not punish my people. If you understand what I have said, then just direct the disaster at me, not at my people. After he spoke to the locusts, he wanted to swallow it to express his determination. The royal guards saw it and worried that eating the locusts would harm his health, so they advised him against it. But Taizong said, I just want heaven to direct this disaster upon me. How could I be afraid of getting sick? Then he immediately swallowed it. Taizong's great kindness toward his people moved heaven, and not long after, the locust plague ended. After that, for more than 10 years, Taizong was in power. There was no plague of locusts. One time, Taizong said to his courtiers, anyone who owns a pearl, cherish it as a most valuable item. Wouldn't it be a pity to use it to kill a sparrow? Moreover, people's lives are much more valuable than the pearl. Seeing the money, not giving a thought to the law, and simply accept the bribes, that's another way to cherish their lives. People's lives are so valuable. How can they be exchanged for material goods? If you can be a man with integrity and honesty, thinking of the benefits and interests of other people, the title for official will soon come to you. If you pursue fame and take bribes, when those corrupt deeds are exposed to light, your life will come to an end. This law is same for kings and emperors. If one is indulgent in what is comfortable and fun, having his people do excessive labor, trusting villains, alienating people with integrity, how could the country do anything but decline? Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty led a decadent life, yet thought he should be treated like a saint. As a result, he died at hands of common people ridiculously. In the second year Zhengguan, which was the title of his reign, Taizong said to his courtiers, I have said that people who are greedy for money do not really know how to treasure money. For an example, in some places, the officials at and over the fifth rank have a very high salary and receive a large annual salary. If they accept someone's bribe, it should be around tenth of thousands in value. Once those bad deeds are brought to light, their official salaries will be cut. Is this the way to treasure your money and property? A king or emperor who does this kind of thing will lose his state and an official who is greedy will be executed. In the past, Qin Hui of Qin dynasty wanted to conquer Shu state, but he did not know the road to Shu. So he asked someone to carve five stone cattle and put a goat right behind the cattle, so that when Shu's people saw it, they would believe that cattle's feces turned into gold. Indeed, five incredibly strong people came to pull the stone cattle to Shu state, and thereafter, the road to Shu was clearly marked. Following the road, the Qin army attacked Shu state, and it was destroyed. Another example, Yang Niantian, the minister of finance of the Han dynasty, accepted 30 million in bribes. After his corrupt behavior was exposed, he committed suicide and died. Such a fate is really not worth any sum of money. Today, I take the king of Shu as a reference, and you should take Yang Niantian as a warning. More than a thousand years have passed, but Tang Taizong's thoughts on governing the country and educating its people have paved a clear and bright road for the later generations, especially in an area that has to be official with high morality and how to guide its people with honesty. Learning these teachings, I can hardly believe the world we face today. I hope those valuable thoughts may remind all of us today, and hope all of us enjoy wealth and happy life. Thank you for listening to the story. More touching stories will be ready for you if you just subscribe it. Thank you again.