The following are stories of kindness and how it manifests in actions toward others.
1. Kindness and ignorance
During the reign of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty, there was a famine one year. The people could only eat grassroots and tree bark, and many people starved to death.
Emperor Hui of Jin was profoundly distressed and wanted to do something for his people. After much contemplation, he came up with a solution: “Since the common people have no rice to eat, why not eat meat porridge instead?”
The kind-hearted but ignorant only had the appearance of kindness, lacking the kind-hearted essence.
2. Kindness and wisdom
Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty was handling affairs late into the night, feeling tired and hungry. He wanted a bowl of hot lamb soup, but endured the hunger without mentioning it.
The next day, his close officials found out and advised him: “Your Majesty works day and night tirelessly. Please take care of your health. If you want to have lamb soup, order it anytime. How can you bear not mentioning it and let your health suffer?”
Emperor Renzong said: “If the palace allows random requests for food, it will become a precedent. If I had mutton soup last night, the imperial chef would have to kill lambs every night, resulting in hundreds of them being slaughtered in a year, forming a routine. The number of slaughters in the future would be countless. Creating such a bad precedent for a meal would harm living beings. I would rather endure temporary hunger.”
Kindness is wisdom, making the best choice based on understanding the situation’s basic facts.
3. Kindness and empathy
The Book of Jin records a significant personality difference between the Eastern Jin Minister Chi Chao and his father, Chi Yin.
Chi Chao allied with Grand General Huan Wen to plot for imperial power. Because his father was loyal to the royal family, he dared not let his father know about it.
When Chi Chao fell seriously ill and realized his time was limited, he took out a box of books and handed it to his disciple, saying: “If my father becomes excessively sad, give him this box.”
After Chi Chao’s death, Chi Yin indeed fell ill from grief. The disciple then gave the box to Chi Yin. Upon opening it, Chi Yin discovered it contained letters of Chi Chao and Huan Wen plotting for imperial power. Chi Yin was furious and scolded vehemently, no longer missing Chi Chao, and miraculously recovered from his illness. Chi Chao saved his father from a severe sickness at the most minor cost.
Kindness is an ability to empathize, think from others’ perspectives, and deeply understand the evil in human nature.
4. Kindness and foresight
During the Spring and Autumn period, Lu stipulated: “Any citizen who travels abroad and sees a Lu person enslaved can spend money to redeem him, and after returning to the state, they can reimburse the expenses from the state’s treasury.”
Confucius’s disciple Zigong saw a Lu person enslaved and redeemed him with money, but did not go to the state’s treasury for reimbursement. Many people praised Zigong for his noble character. When Confucius found out, he severely criticized Zigong.
Others found it strange: “Isn’t it noble to redeem someone without seeking reimbursement?”
Confucius said: “No. Zigong’s actions will result in more enslaved people not being able to be redeemed. In the future, when others see Lu people enslaved, they will think: ‘If I redeem and report, my character is inferior to Zigong. If I don’t report, I can’t afford it.’ So they pretend to be ignorant and do not redeem people. Zigong’s failure to report hinders more enslaved people from being redeemed, which is harmful.” Confucius had a far-reaching view of the development and changes of things.
Kindness is a foresight. It considers issues from one’s perspective and others’ perspectives, even considering whether there will be erroneous chain reactions after taking action. Only then can one do something to the best of their ability or disseminate actual knowledge to others.
Translated by Joseph Wu and edited by Amanda
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