At noon on the day of hoeing, the sweat drops down the soil,
Who knows the plate of Chinese food, the grains are hard!
Diligence and thrift have always been the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, and we should inherit and carry forward this virtue.
In China's history, there are many people and things who are diligent and thrifty, but there is only one person who exerts thrift and thrift to the extreme, and he is Zhang Jian.
As he knew, Zhang Jian was indeed frugal, and he had been frugal all his life, so that the emperor could not look at it. Zhang Jian was the prime minister of the Liao State, assisting two generations of emperors and was deeply valued by the emperor.
The other officials were all dressed in silk and satin, and they were eager to change three pieces of clothing a day, but Zhang Jian was different, as the prime minister, he was still coarse cloth and linen, and he did not look like the extravagant style of the prime minister.
Not only is he dressed, but even eating he is very frugal. Others are chicken, duck and fish meat, four dishes and one soup, while Zhang Jian only eats one dish a meal, and often eats it, and it is not tired at all.
Zhang Jian's words and deeds, Liao Xingzong is in his eyes, but he has always had a question in his heart, is Zhang Jian really thrifty, or is he pretending to be frugal?
One day, when Zhang Jian was wearing a worn-out robe, Liao Xingzong saw it, and he asked people to deliberately burn a hole in Zhang Jian's clothes to see if Zhang Jian would change his clothes.
A month later, Zhang Jian was still wearing this dress, and the hole in it was still there. The next month, Zhang Jian changed his clothes, and Liao Xingzong thought that he had thrown away his old clothes and was very happy.
However, in the third month, Zhang Jian put on the clothes that burned a hole again, and Liao Xingzong realized that he did not throw away the clothes, but washed and began to wear them again.
After a year like this, Zhang Jian was still wearing the clothes that burned a hole, and Liao Xingzong had great admiration for Zhang Jian, and he knew that Zhang Jian was really frugal.
Emperor Xingzong of Liao could not bear to see his prime minister so poor, so he ordered the treasury to be opened and let him take whatever he wanted. Zhang Jian couldn't take it either, so he took 3 pieces of cloth and went home.
Zhang Jian has been diligent and thrifty all his life, with both ability and political integrity, and can be called a generation of sages!
References: History of Liao, History of Song, etc