Many times it is said that a person has a suspect in the law, it will be said that he has "melon field and plum suspicion", that is, he has done something on a certain occasion, and it is easy to be suspected of committing a crime. In fact, the term "melon field plum" is often used in the expression of "being questioned", but the original story of the idiom is actually never committed, but on a certain occasion he did some behavior that is easy to associate, which caused the suspicion of stealing melons and picking plums.
In ancient times, officials avoided suspicion and often used this idiom to avoid unnecessary gifts and socializing.
"Guatian Lixia" originates from Han Dynasty literature, Liu Xiang's "Biography of the Daughters of Lie" has the phrase "through the guatian does not creep, passing through the Li Garden is not the right crown", and later in the "Lefu Poetry Collection" Cao Zhi 'Junzi Xing' poem has a more detailed explanation:
"A gentleman is defensive and not suspicious."
The melon field is not in the shoes, and the li is not in the right crown. ”
This means that a gentleman should be bright and honest, so he should try to avoid some behaviors that will cause others to be suspicious. It's like passing through a melon field, if you bend down to tidy up your shoes (shoes), it will inevitably make people wonder if they are using this to cover up stealing melons?
Also walking under the plum tree, if you raise your hand to tidy up the hat on your head, it will inevitably make people wonder if they are stealing plums from the tree? If we pass through the melon field without tidying up our shoes and come to the plum tree without tidying up the hat on our heads, we will naturally not arouse suspicion.
In order to avoid suspicion of stealing melons, do not tidy up your shoes in melon fields.
The ancients, as officials, often quoted this phrase for self-vigilance.
For example, Yuan Yuxiu of Northern Wei during the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties served in important positions in the imperial court, and was a clean and honest official, never accepting hospitality from others. Shi Yanzhou assassinated Shi Xingshao and Yuan Yuxiu were friendly, and once Yuan Yuxiu traveled on a business trip to inspect officials in various places, and when he passed through Yanzhou, Xing Shao sent someone to send a white silk horse to this friend. Yuan refused to accept it on the grounds that "Guatian Lixia, the ancients were cautious, willing to get this heart, not to be blamed", pointing out that he was traveling as a public official this time, which was different from the two of them' personal relationship on weekdays.
In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Wenzong of Tang wanted to send the chancellor Guo Min as a magistrate, and there was much discussion inside and outside the imperial court about this arrangement. Guo Min was the uncle of the empress dowager, cautious and humble, talented and virtuous, and as a magistrate, he deserved it. Tang Wenzong did not know why, so he asked Liu Gongquan, the attendant of the Ministry of Works at the time, that Liu Gongquan replied, "Why is it known that gua and li are suspected?" The meaning refers to this relationship between each other, melon field and lixia, suspicion is inevitable, not everyone understands it, and it is impossible to explain it clearly.
In ancient times, the term "Guatian Lixia" was often quoted by officials as a self-admonitions, and to this day it means that anyone who handles things constitutes a suspicion.
The original meaning of "Guatian Lixia" is to tell the world that gentlemen should behave in a certain manner, and they must be innocent, but they must also be cautious everywhere and avoid doing some suspicious things, so as not to cause others to be troubled by themselves.
In ancient times, "Guatian Lixia" was mostly quoted during public works, which meant that people should not feel that power was used for personal gain, especially for officials who had more stringent requirements for their own virtues and conduct, and more often used this sentence as an admonition to avoid suspicion and preserve their reputation. To this day, when it is said that someone's behavior constitutes a suspicion, it will be said that he is suspected of being a melon field and a plum.