Zhai Zhong monopolized the government of Zheng, to the great trouble of the earl, who employed Zhong's son-in-law, Yong Jiu [this Yong Jiu had come to Zheng with Tu from Song, and married a daughter of Zhai Zhong] to kill him. Jiu proposed doing so at a feast which he was to give Zhong in the suburbs, but Yong Ji [Jiu's wife, and Zhong's daughter] became aware of the design, and said to her mother, "Whether is a father or a husband the nearer and dearer?" The mother said, "Any man may be husband to a woman, but she can have but one father. How can there be any comparison between them?" She then told Zhai Zhong, saying, "Yong is leaving his house, and intends to feast you in the suburbs and there kill you; I got him to tell me by guile." On this Zhai Zhong killed Yong Jiu, and threw away his body by the pool of the Zhou family. The earl took it with him in his carriage, and left the State, saying, "It was right he should die, who communicated his plans to his wife!" Thus in summer duke Li quitted Zheng, and fled to Cai.
Kong Rong (153-208), the 20 th generation descendant of Confucius, was a high official during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty. As he was good-tempered and hospitable, his house was always full of guests. He was a noted poet and was one of the “Seven Famous Personages of Jian An.” Kong Rong was once appointed the prefect of Beihai , hence named Kong Beihai . During his tenure of office, Kong Rong constructed cities, built schools, and advocated Confucianism. Kong Rong upheld etiquette , and had made his name heard in his childhood for a "giving up the biggest pear" story. In Kong Rong ’s Family, there were seven brothers in his family and Kong Rong was the sixth son. When he was four years old, he was asked to choose a pear in priority. However, Kong Rong choose a smallest pear, leaving big ones to his elder brothers. Every time the siblings ate pears, his elder brothers always took big ones. He, however, always picked up the small one. When ...
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