Yan Shu, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, is famous for his honesty. At the age of fourteen, he was recommended to the emperor and became a child prodigy. The emperor summoned him and asked him to take the exam at the same time with more than 1000 Jinshi. As a result, Yan Shu found that she had just practiced the exam ten days ago, so she truthfully reported to Zhenzong and asked to change other topics. Song Zhenzong appreciated Yan Shu's honesty very much and named him "fellow scholar". When Yan Shu takes office, the world is at peace. Therefore, Beijing officials, large and small, often go to the suburbs or hold various banquets in restaurants and teahouses in the city. Yan Shu was poor and had no money to go out to eat, drink and have fun, so she had to read and write articles with her brothers at home. One day, Zhenzong promoted Yan Shu as the official of the East Palace who assisted the prince in his studies. Ministers were surprised and didn't understand why Zhenzong made such a decision. Zhenzong said, "Recently, the ministers often play and have banquets. Only Yan Shu studies behind closed doors, so she is cautious in self-esteem and is the best candidate for the East Palace official. " Yan Shu thanked him and said, "I am actually a person who likes to play and eat, but my family is poor." If I had money, I would have taken part in the banquet tour. " These two things made Yan Shu establish prestige in front of ministers, and Song Zhenzong trusted him more.
2. Comparison of Washington, Nixon and Clinton
Washington cut down his father's cherry tree with a small axe. When his father saw his beloved tree cut down, he was very angry and threatened to teach the tree cutter a lesson. Washington admitted his mistake in front of his angry father. Father was very moved and said that Washington's honesty is much more precious than all cherry trees. It was also President Nixon who was forced to resign because he lied in Watergate. Clinton was also impeached for lying in a disgraceful scandal. One was loved for his honesty, and the other two left a stain on political history for lying.
3. Comparison between "Building a Tree for Faith" and "Bonfire Party".
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin Shangyang presided over the political reform with the support of Qin Xiaogong. At that time, at a time of frequent wars and panic, in order to establish prestige and promote reform, Shang Yang ordered a 30-foot-long wood to be erected outside the south gate of the capital, and made a promise in public: whoever can move this wood to the north gate will be rewarded with twelve taels of silver. None of the onlookers believe that such an easy thing can get such a high reward, so no one is willing to try. So Shang Yang raised the reward to 50 gold. Under the four rewards, there must be brave people. Finally someone stepped forward and carried the wood to the north gate. Shang Yang immediately rewarded him with fifty gold. Shang Yang's move established prestige in the hearts of the people, and Shang Yang's next reform was quickly popularized in Qin State. The new law made the State of Qin stronger and eventually unified China.
It was also in the place where Shang Yang "established a tree as a letter" that a ridiculous farce of "playing a vassal in a bonfire" was staged 400 years ago.
There is a favorite princess in Zhou Youwang, whose name is Bos. In order to win her smile, Zhou Youwang ordered more than 20 beacon towers near the capital to light bonfires-bonfires are a signal of border warning, which can only be lit when foreign enemies invade and need to call the princes for help. As a result, as soon as the princes saw the bonfire, they led the soldiers to arrive in a hurry, realized that it was a trick set by the king to smile at his wife, and then left angrily. I finally smiled happily when I saw the usually prestigious princes at a loss. Five years later, another large-scale attack on Zhou, the bonfire of Youwang was rekindled, but the ministers were late-no one wanted to be fooled again. As a result, you Wang was forced to commit suicide and was praised and captured.
A "stand up and win the trust" promises 1000 yuan; An emperor didn't believe it and played the game of "wolf coming". As a result, the former succeeded in political reform and the country was strong; The latter, who brought shame on himself, died. It can be seen that "belief" plays a very important role in the rise and fall of a country.
4。 Lu Bu's promise saved him from disaster.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was a man named Ji Bu. He kept his word and had a very high reputation. Many people have established a strong friendship with him. At that time, there was even a proverb: "It is better to get a hundred pounds of gold than to keep a promise." (This is the origin of the idiom "A promise is as good as a gold") Later, he offended Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu, and was offered a reward for his capture. As a result, his old friends not only were not confused by the heavy money, but also risked the extinction of Jiuzu to protect him from disaster. A person who is honest and trustworthy will naturally get a lot of help and gain everyone's respect and friendship. On the other hand, if you covet temporary comfort or petty advantages and lose trust in your friends, you will get "benefits" on the surface. But for this benefit, he ruined his reputation, which is much more important than material things. Therefore, breaking a promise to a friend is tantamount to losing a watermelon and picking up sesame seeds, which is not worth the loss.