1. Tao Yuanming: Don’t give up for five buckets of rice.
The last time Tao Yuanming served as an official was in the first year of Yixi (405). That year, Tao Yuanming, who had passed the age of forty-one, was persuaded by his friends to serve as the magistrate of Pengze County. Once, the county sent a postal supervisor to learn about the situation. Someone told Tao Yuanming: Those are people sent from above, and they should be dressed neatly and respectfully to greet him.
After hearing this, Tao Yuanming let out a long sigh: "I don't want to be humble and courteous to these guys just for a small county magistrate's salary of five buckets." After saying that, he resigned from his official position and went home. Tao Yuanming served as magistrate of Pengze County for only more than eighty days. When he abandoned his post this time, he left officialdom forever.
Tao Yuanming gained spiritual freedom, gained personal dignity, and wrote poems that have been passed down for generations because he "did not give up for five buckets of rice." While leaving precious literary wealth for future generations, he also left behind precious spiritual wealth. Because of his high moral character and integrity, he has become a role model for future generations of Chinese people with lofty ideals.
2. Su Wu: Nineteen years of shepherding sheep on Lake Baikal.
Su Wu was a native of the Han Dynasty in China in the first century BC. At that time, the relationship between the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains and the Xiongnu, the minority regime in the northwest, was good and bad. In 100 BC, the new chanyu of the Xiongnu regime came to the throne. In order to show friendship, the emperor of the Han Dynasty sent Su Wu to lead more than a hundred people and bring a lot of property as envoys to the Xiongnu.
Unexpectedly, just when Su Wu completed his mission and was about to return to his country, civil strife broke out among the upper echelons of the Xiongnu. Su Wu and his party were implicated, detained, and asked to betray the Han Dynasty and surrender to the Shanyu. .
Chanyu found that there was no hope of persuading Su Wu to surrender, no matter soft or hard, but he respected Su Wu's integrity and could not bear to kill Su Wu, nor did he want him to return to his country, so he decided to send Su Wu to surrender. He was exiled to Lake Baikal in Siberia and asked to herd sheep. Before leaving, Shan Yu summoned Su Wu and said, "Since you don't surrender, I will let you herd sheep. When the rams give birth to lambs, I will let you return to the Central Plains."
In In Lake Baikal, Suwu has been herding sheep for nineteen years. For more than ten years, the Xiongnu Chanyu who originally ordered him to be imprisoned has passed away. Even in Su Wu's country, the old emperor also died, and the old emperor's son succeeded to the throne. At this time, the new Chanyu implemented the policy of peace with the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty emperor immediately sent envoys to take Su Wu back to his country.
Su Wu was warmly welcomed in the capital of the Han Dynasty. From government officials to ordinary people, everyone paid tribute to this hero who was full of national integrity. More than two thousand years have passed, and Su Wu's noble integrity has become an example of Chinese ethical personality and a national cultural and psychological element.
3. Li Bai: "An Neng can bend his eyebrows and bend his waist to serve the powerful, which makes me unhappy."
The political life he experienced in Chang'an for three years had a profound impact on Li Bai's creation. There was a sharp conflict between his political ideals and the dark reality, and he was filled with unspeakable pain and resentment. Out of anger comes good poetry, so he wrote a series of poems such as "The Road Is Difficult", "Ancient Style", "Reply to the King Drinking Alone on a Twelve Cold Nights", etc., to admire the ancients and make my thoughts fly; I feel sorry for my life experience, and it is difficult to let go of my sorrow. famous poem.
Li Bai lived a wandering life for most of his life, traveled to many famous mountains and rivers across the country, and wrote a large number of beautiful poems praising the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, in order to express his love for freedom and desire for liberation. In this type of poem, the dangerous mountains and rivers perfectly match his rebellious and unruly character. This kind of poem accounts for a large number of Li Bai's poetry works and has been recited from generation to generation. Among them, "Dreamwalking Tianmu Yin Liu Farewell" is the most outstanding representative work.
With vivid and elated poetry, the poet stretches the wings of his imagination freely and writes about various spiritual adventures and pursuits, allowing the depressed soul to be truly liberated in dreams. . And the poem "An Neng can crush his eyebrows and bend his waist to serve the powerful, which makes me unhappy!" fully reveals the poet's pride and becomes an important basis for future generations to examine Li Bai's great personality.
4. Ruan Ji: Proud and independent, willful and unruly.
The Taiwei Jiang Ji heard that Ruan Ji was "handsome and elegant, with high ambitions", so he prepared to certify Ruan Ji as his vassal. When Ruan Ji heard the news, he wrote a "Memorial" and sent it personally to the capital pavilion outside Luoyang City, asking officials to forward it to Jiang Ji. In the "Memorial", he said that he had little talent and little knowledge, and was born in a humble background. He was too embarrassed to take on the important task, so he politely declined. He reluctantly took office, but soon fell ill and resigned.
Cao Shuang summoned him to join the army, but he reported illness and could not come out. Later, Cao Shuang was killed, and Sima Yi called him as a minister. After Sima Yi died, Sima Shi continued to use him as a minister. Ruan Ji was originally politically inclined to the royal family of Cao Wei and was dissatisfied with the Sima Group, but at the same time he felt that worldly affairs were no longer possible, so he adopted an attitude of staying aloof and protecting himself, either studying behind closed doors, climbing mountains and rivers, or getting drunk Not awake, or silent.
Zhong Hui was a close confidant of the Sima family. He had asked Ruan Ji about his views on current affairs many times, but Ruan Ji got away with it by getting drunk. Sima Zhao himself had conversations with him several times to test his political views. He always responded by speaking mysteriously and vaguely, so Sima Zhao had to say, "Ruan Sizong is extremely cautious." Sima Zhao also wanted to marry Ruan Ji, but Ji was drunk for 60 days, making the matter impossible.
In October of the fourth year of Jingyuan (263), Sima Zhao was granted the title of Jin Gong by the Jin Dynasty, and was given the title of Prime Minister of the country, plus Jiuxi. This was an important step for Sima Zhao to formally implement his usurpation of power. According to routine, Cao Huan, the puppet emperor of Cao Wei, issued an edict to confer a title of Jin. Sima gave in humbly, and then was "persuaded to join" by the minister. At that time, Ruan Ji was serving as an infantry captain and was also ordered to write. However, Ruan Ji continued to drink. When the messenger came to urge him to write the manuscript, Ruan Ji had no choice but to bring wine and draft the manuscript to satisfy his responsibilities.
5. Wen Tianxiang: Since ancient times, no one has ever died, leaving a loyal heart to illuminate history.
In 1275, the imperial court named Lu Wende, the general of the surrendered Yuan army, as the king of Heyi County, and promoted his nephew Lu Shimeng to the post of Shangshu of the rear. The atmosphere of surrender pervaded the capital for a while, and Wen Tianxiang wrote a letter begging to kill Lu Shimeng to stabilize the situation. Military morale.
After Wen Tianxiang was captured, Liu Mengyan and a group of surrendering thieves tried hard to persuade them to surrender, but Wen Yi all scolded them. Even Emperor Gong of Song, who had already surrendered to the enemy, was ignored when he came to persuade them to surrender. Wen Tianxiang clearly stated that "the country is more important than the emperor." He was not foolishly loyal to the emperor, but was unconditionally loyal to the country and nation.
On January 9, 1283, Wen Tianxiang died heroically in Chaishikou, Dadu. He left behind a large number of poems and essays after his death, including "Crossing the Lingding Ocean", "No one has died since ancient times, and his loyalty will illuminate history."
The "Song of Righteousness" written in prison and the "Edict on Clothing Belt" found in his clothes after his death (Confucius said "Chengren", Mencius said "Quiting Yi", but the meaning is exhausted, so benevolence What have you learned from reading the books of sages? From now on, I am worthy of being a common man) has become a swan song that illuminates the sun and the moon, magnifies mountains and rivers, and has become a precious part of the national spiritual wealth. Wen Tianxiang thus became an immortal national hero.