During the Ming Dynasty, a scholar sat for the Imperial examination and won the coveted prize of ‘Champion’. This notable scholar was Liu Lishun (1582-1644) from Henan Province.
In his earlier career, Liu Lishun procured a place at a rich man’s home to teach young apprentices. The man hired a maid to take care of the daily household chores and meal preparations as a sign of respect for the teacher. The maid was not only young and beautiful, but she was equally intelligent. She was assigned to work by Liu Lishun’s side day and night and slept in an adjoining room.
After more than three years of rigorous teaching, Liu Lishun decided to resign in order to prepare for the Imperial examination. Because of his dedication, everyone wanted to retain him and tried to dissuade him from leaving, but to no avail, as he had made up his mind.
Prior to leaving, the rich man had a conversation with Liu Lishun and made him a proposition.
The rich man offers the beautiful maid to Liu Lishun
The man expressed to Liu Lishun: “The maid has done her best to serve you for three years. If you like, please take her back to your home!”
Liu Lishun replied: “I truly appreciated you hiring her to take care of my daily life for these past three years. I already have a wife, so how can I take her back home? I hope you can find and choose a good match for a girl of such beauty and dignified appearance. I can’t take her home!”
The man responded: “Although you have a wife, you have a good impression of her since you think she is beautiful and dignified. You can take her as your concubine! Isn’t it a scholar’s romance? Why not? Since you said to choose a match for her to marry, everyone thinks she has affection for you after years of serving. How could she…”
Liu Lishun replied with all due seriousness: “You think I am unscrupulous! In fact, for the past three years, although I have been with her day and night, I have never had any unrighteous thoughts, let alone any indecent actions. As for your perception of it being ‘a scholar’s romance,’ in my opinion, indecent assault on a girl is not a romance — it is an ugly crime. I have read the Book of Sages and I will never do scandalous things that would damage my character. Don’t degrade me!”
Although the rich man affirmed to Liu that he was well-intentioned, he secretly thought it was impossible that a married man who lived apart from his wife was not tempted by another woman who lived closely with him for over three years. There must be a secret between them!
To find the answer, he instructed his wife to have a discrete conversation with the maid.
The wife asked the maid: “Does Mr. Liu Lishun tease you during his spare time?”
The maid replied: “Mr. Liu has a very solemn attitude on weekdays. He has never made fun of me and never spoke inappropriately, let alone touched me.”
The wife queried further: “Has he ever gone to your bed during the night?”
The maid answered with absolute certainty: “Every night he goes to bed first, and I wake up first in the morning, so it’s absolutely impossible for him to be in my bed.”
Although the maid described Liu Lishun very well, the wife still couldn’t believe it. After multiple verifications, she finally dispelled any of her doubts.
The wife reported her findings to the husband. Convinced that Liu Lishun was indeed a sincere gentleman with high morals, the husband felt very ashamed and sincerely apologized to him. He said: “I really should not gauge the heart of a gentleman with my own insincere, bad thoughts. I’m sorry! Please forgive me! Not only do I admire your scholarly knowledge, but now I deeply respect your high morality! Having been in the same room with a beautiful girl for over three years, you still remain loyal, practice fidelity, and treat everyone with the utmost respect because you never compromise your moral character. Even the ancient saints were no better than that!”
It has been said that if a man accumulates virtue, he will be blessed by God. In 1634, the seventh year of Emperor Sizong’s reign, Liu Lishun went to the capital to sit for the Palace Exam, the final stage of the Imperial examination, and attained the highest score — a Golden First. A true champion!
Translated by Patty Zhang
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