PureInsight | April 7, 2007
[PureInsight.org] Li Shimian
was an imperial academician in the Ming dynasty. One year, he went to
see lantern show on the night of the Lantern Festival (January 15) and
found a gold hairpin while on his way. So he put up a note on his front
door the following day to find the owner of the lost property.
Soon after, a woman came in, terrified, and said: "My husband is a
Thousand Households at the imperial guard and is on duty abroad right
now. I went to see the lanterns last night and lost the gold hairpin. I
have another pin same as the lost one as the proof."
After examining it, Li Shimian returned the gold hairpin to her. When
the husband returned from abroad, he brought many gifts to thank Li
Shimian. But Li refused to accept them.
The husband said: "I will not force you to accept my gifts. But here is
a slice of medicine, called Resina Draconis. I brought it back from
overseas. It is rarely seen in this world. I hope you will keep it." Li
shimian kept the Resina Draconis.
A few years later, Li Shimian became an imperial censor. Because of his
criticizing the emperor frankly in the palace, emperor Renzong was
infuriated and ordered the palace guard to beat him with a gold
apparatus that weighed nine kilograms. He was beaten to near death and
his ribs were also broken. He was then thrown into the imperial jail.
At the time, the Thousand Households was the warden of the imperial
prison. He was shocked to see him: "Isn't this the imperial academician
Li? His Imperial Edict didn't give the order for him to die here." He
therefore called a doctor in secret.
After examining him, the doctor said: "He can be cured; but we will
need Resina Draconis as medicine, which is very difficult to get. The
Thousand Households said: "Mr. Li's home has it." He then dispatched a
person to see Mrs. Li and got the Resina Draconis. Because of timely
treatment, Li Shimian survived.
Later, when Xuanzong became the Emperor, he gave an order returning Li Shimian to his official post.
(From Xing Shi Yan, a novel written by Lu Renlong at the end of the Ming dynasty)
Translated from: http://zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2007/3/13/42722p.html
