ExclusiveTraditional Chinese Tales：The Integrity of Song Lian

The Integrity of Song Lian. Song Lian was a great writer in the early Ming Dynasty. Serving as a government official, Song took responsibility in inheriting the Confucian moral system. He proposed that the writing style should be consistent with its moral inner meanings. Since his childhood, Song had been a person with high integrity. With great interest in learning, From youth to old age, Song had never lived a single day without books. No matter what he studied, he always understood it thoroughly. Song wrote in the preface to Mr. Ma in Dongyang, When I was a child, I was highly interested in studying, but my family was too poor to buy any books, so I could only borrow from rich people Once I borrowed a book, I would copy it down as soon as possible. Every day, I would read as much as possible, calculating the time to return. I dared not to be late in return, because I always kept my promises. People were willing to lend their books to me. This is why I was able to read many books. Once Song borrowed a book, and the more he read it, the more he loved it. So he decided to copy it. But the deadline for return was approaching. It was right in the middle of winter. Gusty wind swept around. It was so cold that the ink in the inkstand was frozen into ice. His family was too poor to have fire on to keep it warm. Song's fingers were frozen, and he could hardly bend or straighten them. Even so, he still continued, copying the book all night long. Once he finished copying, he ran all the way to return the book right before the deadline. In face of poverty, hunger, and cold weather, Song did not treat harsh conditions as suffering. Instead, he focused on studying and learned how to behave. At the age of 20, when he became an adult, he was even more eager to learn from the sages. However, since he had no teacher to guide him, his problems often could not be solved. So Song walked more than 100 miles to seek advice from accomplished predecessors among his fellow countrymen. Once Song Lian was going to travel far to seek advice from a scholar, the appointment was already made, but heavy snow started to fall on the day of his departure. When Song was about to leave, his mother asked in surprise, How can you go out in such a weather? Besides, it was already snowing heavily at the teacher's place. Even your old coat can't withstand the cold weather in the mountains. Song responded, If I don't leave today, I'll miss my teacher's appointment, and I'll fail to keep my promise, which is disrespectful to my teacher. No matter how bad the storm is, I must head out. Putting on his straw shoes and carrying his luggage on the back, Song walked alone in the mountains, treading through several feet of snow. When he finally arrived at his teacher's house, his limbs were frozen and numb. It took a long time for him to return to normal condition. The teacher praised him, Young man, you keep your promise and study hard. You are destined to have a bright future. Because Song Lian was both virtuous and talented, Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang chose Song to be the prince's teacher. Song paid great attention to the prince's ethics and conduct. The prince always admired him tremendously, addressing him as master with high respect. Song Lian, indeed, set a great example of being honest and trustworthy.