Chinese and foreign celebrities talk about integrity

1． The establishment of Yan Shu's credibility

Yan Shu, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, is known for his honesty. When he was fourteen years old, someone recommended him to the emperor as a child prodigy. The emperor summoned him and asked him to take the exam at the same time as more than a thousand Jinshi. As a result, Yan Shu discovered that the test was one he had just practiced ten days ago, so he reported the truth to Zhenzong and asked for other questions to be changed. Song Zhenzong admired Yan Shu's honest character very much and gave him "the same background as a Jinshi". When Yan Shu was in office, the world was at peace. As a result, officials of all sizes in the capital often went to the countryside to play or held various banquets in restaurants and teahouses in the city. Yan Shu's family was poor and he had no money to go out to eat, drink and have fun, so he had to read and write articles at home with his brothers. One day, Zhenzong promoted Yan Shu to the East Palace official who assisted the prince in his studies. The ministers were surprised and didn't understand why Zhenzong made such a decision. Zhenzong said: "Recently, the ministers often go out to play and have banquets. Only Yan Shu studies behind closed doors. He is so self-respecting and prudent that he is a suitable candidate for the East Palace official." After thanking Yan Shu, he said: "I am actually a person who likes to play and have banquets. It's just my family. It's just poverty. If I had money, I would have participated in the banquet." These two things established Yan Shu's credibility in front of the officials, and Song Zhenzong also trusted him more.

2. Comparison between Washington, Nixon and Clinton

Washington chopped down one of his father's cherry trees with a hatchet. When my father saw that his beloved tree was cut down, he was very angry and threatened to teach the man who cut down the tree a lesson. Washington admitted his mistake without hesitation in front of his furious father. The father was moved and said that Washington's honesty was much more precious than all the cherry trees. Similarly, US President Richard Nixon was forced to resign after being exposed for lying in the "Watergate Incident"; Clinton also narrowly escaped impeachment because of lying in a disgraceful scandal. One was loved and respected for his honesty, the two were stained in political history for lying.

3. Comparison between Li Muweixin and Fenghuo Opera among the princes

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Shang Yang of the Qin State presided over the reform with the support of Qin Xiaogong. At that time, when wars were frequent and people were in panic, in order to establish prestige and promote reforms, Shang Yang ordered a three-foot-long log to be erected outside the south gate of the capital, and made a promise in public: Who can move this log to the north gate? The bounty is ten taels. The onlookers didn't believe that such an easy thing could get such a high reward, so no one was willing to give it a try. So Shang Yang increased the reward to 50 gold. There must be a brave man under the heavy reward, and finally someone stood up and carried the wood to the north gate. Shang Yang immediately rewarded him with fifty gold coins. Shang Yang's move established prestige in the hearts of the people, and Shang Yang's subsequent reforms soon spread in the Qin State. The new law made Qin gradually stronger and stronger, and finally unified China.

In the same place where Shang Yang "erected a tree as a sign of trust", 400 years ago, a ridiculous farce of "playing with princes by beacon fire" took place.

King You of Zhou had a favorite concubine named Bao Si. In order to win her smile, King You of Zhou ordered beacon fires to be lit on more than 20 beacon towers near the capital - beacon fires were a signal to alert the border, and were only used by foreign enemies. Invasion can only be ignited when the princes are summoned to rescue. As a result, when the princes saw the beacon fire, they hurried over with their soldiers and generals. After understanding that this was the king's trick to win over his wife, they left angrily. Bao Si finally smiled happily when she saw the helpless appearance of the usually dignified princes. Five years later, Youyi Tairong launched a large-scale attack on Zhou Dynasty. King You's war was reignited but the princes did not arrive - no one wanted to be fooled a second time. As a result, King You was forced to commit suicide and Bao Si was captured.

An emperor who "stands tall to gain trust" can make a promise worth a thousand dollars; an emperor who has no faith plays the game of "crying wolf". As a result, the former's reform was successful and the country became strong; the latter brought humiliation to himself and the country perished. It can be seen that "faith" plays a very important role in the rise and fall of a country.

4. Ji Bu's "a promise of a thousand gold" saved him from disaster.

In the late Qin Dynasty, there was a man named Ji Bu who always kept his word and had a very high reputation. Many people had established a strong friendship with him. There was even a proverb circulating at that time: "It is better to get Jibu Yinuo than to get a hundred catties of gold." (This is the origin of the idiom "A promise of a thousand catties") Later, he offended Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and was offered a reward for his arrest. As a result, his old friend not only was not deceived by the huge sum of money, but also risked the destruction of the nine tribes to protect him and save him from disaster. A person who is honest and trustworthy will naturally get a lot of help and can gain everyone's respect and friendship. On the other hand, if you are greedy for temporary comfort or small gains and break your trust with your friends, you will get "benefits" on the surface. But for this benefit, he ruined his reputation, and reputation is much more important than material things. Therefore, breaking trust with a friend is like losing a watermelon and picking up sesame seeds. The gain outweighs the loss.