Amazing Views of Ancient and Modern Times (Text and Images) - Complete Set of 2 Volumes

Author: (Ming) Bao'eng Laoren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Let's talk about a famous official from the Han Dynasty. In the beginning, when he was not yet in his prime, his wife "could see the mountain but not the giant," abandoned him, and later regretted it too late. You ask, where was this official from? What was his surname and name? Well, that official's surname was Zhu, and his name was Mai Jin, styled Wanzhi, a native of the Wuxi Prefecture. Poor and unappreciated, the couple lived in a humble alley with thatched doors. Every day, Mai Jin would chop wood in the mountains and carry it to the market to sell for money to sustain themselves. He loved reading and never put down a book. Even while carrying the wood load on his shoulders, he would hold a book in his hands, reciting and savoring it, singing and walking. The people in the market had grown accustomed to hearing his reading, and whenever they heard his voice, they knew Mai Jin was coming with his wood load. Poor him, a scholar, yet they all bought his wood. Moreover, Mai Jin never argued about prices, simply letting people assess the value, so his wood sold more easily than others'. There were also frivolous young men and children who, seeing him carry wood and read, would gather in groups to mock and ridicule him. Mai Jin paid no mind to it. One day, his wife went out to fetch water and saw the children following Mai Jin's wood load, clapping and laughing, which deeply shamed her. When Mai Jin sold his wood and returned home, his wife urged him, "If you want to read, then stop selling wood. If you want to sell wood, then stop reading. At your age, not foolish or mad, yet you act like this, and the children laugh at you—won't you be ashamed!" Mai Jin replied, "I sell wood to alleviate poverty and read to achieve wealth. They are not mutually exclusive. Let them laugh." His wife laughed, "If you achieve wealth, you won't sell wood anymore. Since ancient times to this day, have you ever seen a wood seller become an official?" She added, "That's nonsense!" Mai Jin said, "Wealth and poverty each have their time. Someone calculated my destiny and said I would surely rise to prominence at fifty. As the saying goes, 'The sea cannot be measured with a cup,' so don't judge me." His wife retorted, "That fortune-teller saw how mad you were and deliberately mocked you. Don't listen to him. By the time you're fifty, you won't even be able to carry your wood load, and you'll starve. Still dreaming of becoming an official? Unless the Yama King lacks a judge, you can take his place!" Mai Jin said, "Even Jiang Taigong was still fishing by the Wei River at eighty years old when he met King Wen of Zhou, who later carried him in a chariot and appointed him as Shangfu. During our dynasty, Gongsun Hong, the Prime Minister, was still raising pigs in the East Sea at fifty-nine, and it wasn't until he was sixty that he met the current emperor and was appointed as a general and enfeoffed. I will rise to prominence at fifty, though later than Gan Luo, earlier than those two. You must have patience and wait." His wife said, "Don't quote ancient tales. Those who fished or raised pigs all had talent. You read these dead books, and even if you read them for a hundred years, you'll still look like this—what use are you? It's a curse to be your wife! You're mocked by children, and it brings shame upon me too. If you don't listen to me and abandon your books, I won't stay with you for life. Each must find their own path, don't let us both waste each other!"
Mai Jin said, "I'm forty-three now. Seven years from now, I'll be fifty. The years will pass quickly, and you won't have to wait long. To be so heartless and leave me, you'll regret it later." His wife replied, "There are plenty of wood sellers in the world. What will you regret? If I stay with you for another seven years, I don't know where my bones will end up from hunger. Just let me go, so I can live!"
Seeing that his wife was determined to leave and couldn't be persuaded, Mai Jin sighed and said, "Well, may you find a husband better than Zhu Mai Jin." His wife said, "At least he's better than me!" With that, she bowed twice and left happily, without looking back. Mai Jin was deeply moved and composed four lines of poetry on the wall:
"Married a dog, followed a dog;
Married a chicken, followed a chicken.
Wife abandoned me, but I did not abandon my wife."
When Mai Jin was fifty, Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict seeking talented officials. Mai Jin went to the Western Capital to submit his petition and waited at the official carriages. A fellow townsman, Yan Zhu, recommended Mai Jin's talent. The emperor, knowing Mai Jin was from Wuxi and familiar with the local customs and conditions, appointed him as the governor of Wuxi and sent him to take office in haste. The local officials of Wuxi, hearing that the new governor was arriving, mobilized laborers to repair the roads. Mai Jin's former wife and her new husband were among those working. His former wife, with disheveled hair and bare feet, followed the procession to deliver food. When she saw the governor arriving with a retinue, she peeked from the side and recognized her former husband. Mai Jin spotted her from the carriage and sent someone to call her in, seating her in the rear carriage. In the governor's residence, his former wife was so ashamed she knelt and begged forgiveness. Mai Jin had his new husband meet her. Soon, the new husband arrived and knelt, unable to look up. Mai Jin laughed and said to his wife, "This man doesn't seem better than Zhu Mai Jin." His former wife knelt repeatedly, regretting her poor judgment and wishing to become a maidservant for life.
Mai Jin ordered a bucket of water to be poured onto the steps and said to his wife, "If water can be recovered, you can too. Considering our youthful bond, I grant you a piece of land in the back garden to farm and live on." His former wife, along with her new husband, left the governor's residence, and the people pointed at them, saying, "That's the former wife of the new governor." Overwhelmed by shame, she went to the garden and drowned herself.
Here is a poem to prove it:
"Even a poor woman knows to pity a hungry scholar,
Yet a wife can bear to abandon a poor scholar?
Had she known the water cannot be recovered,
She would regret not having let him read from the start."
Another poem says that men often abandon the poor for the rich, and this is common in the world, not just with Zhu Mai Jin's wife. The poem goes:
"They judge high and low by wealth,
Who knows the dragon lies in the mud?
Don't blame the woman for poor eyesight,
How many wives betray their husbands?"
This story is about a wife abandoning her husband. Now, let's tell of a husband abandoning his wife. Generally, men abandon the poor for the rich, betraying loyalty and gratitude, only to end up with a reputation for being faithless, criticized by others.
The story goes that during the Southern Song Dynasty in the Shaoxing era, Lin'an, though the capital and a prosperous land, still had many beggars. Among the beggars, there was a leader named "Tuan Tou," who oversaw the group. When the beggars earned money, Tuan Tou would take a daily cut. On rainy or snowy days, when begging was impossible, Tuan Tou would cook some thin porridge to feed the beggars. Even ragged clothes were managed by Tuan Tou. Thus, the beggars were cautious and subservient to Tuan Tou, like slaves, not daring to offend him. Tuan Tou collected regular fees and lent money to the beggars, earning interest. If they didn't gamble or squander, they could still live comfortably. He relied on this to make a living and had no intention of changing his profession.
There was one thing, however: the name "Tuan Tou" was unseemly. No matter how wealthy he became or how many generations prospered, he would always be a beggar leader, unlike ordinary families who could walk out with dignity. Even so, when it came to the distinction of "high and low," only courtesans, entertainers, servants, and soldiers were considered low, and beggars were not counted among them. It seemed beggars were only poor, with no physical marks. For example, during the Spring and Autumn period, Wu Zixu begged for food while playing the flute in the streets of Wu; during the Tang Dynasty, Zheng Yuanhe sang "Lianhua Luo" as a singing boy and later became wealthy, covered by a fine robe. These were outstanding beggars. It showed that even though they were despised, they were not as low as courtesans, entertainers, servants, or soldiers.