Chinese Æsop:

 In the bustling capital city, Buyi Jun worked tirelessly as the prefect. His days were filled with the endless tasks of governing, always busy in visiting to the county prison, recording the stories of the prisoners, listening intently to their tales of woe, retrial the cases, and made proper judgements. When he returned home, his mother would always be waiting for him. She was a kind woman, wise and good at teaching. She would ask him about the cases he had overturned and smile happily at his successes. Her joy was infectious and Jun couldn’t help but feel lighter in her presence. But there were times when he had nothing to report. On those days, his mother’s demeanour would change. Her eating and speaking habits would become different and if he had nothing to say, she would become angry and refuse to eat. It was a stark reminder of the weight of his responsibilities. Jun took his mother’s lessons to heart. He was strict but not cruel as an official. He remembered her words and t...

Long ago, Emperor Yâo had two beautiful daughters, called Ê Hwang and Nü Ying. After the emperor had been on the throne seventy years, he abdicted the throne to Emperor Shun, and gave his two daughters in marriage to Shun. Emperor Shun died on a tour of inspection to the south, and buried in the plain of Ts'ang-wû. When Ê Hwang and Nü Ying heard the news of Shun's death,  they stood on the shores of the Hsiao-hsiang, to the south of Lake Tung-t'ing. Their sorrow was deep as the waters of the Lake that go straight down a thousand miles. Dark clouds blackened the sun. The demon-monkey howled in the mist and ghosts whistled in the rain. The queens said, " Though we speak of it we cannot mend it. High Heaven is secretly afraid to shine on our loyalty. But the thunder crashes and bellows its anger, that while Yao and Shun are here they should also be crowning Yü. When a prince loses his servants, the dragon turns into a minnow. When power goes to slaves, mice change ...

In the lawless times of the Chow dynasty, the prince of the State of Ts'ai, who was at enmity with the prince of the small State of Shi [B.C. 682], heard admiring accounts of the unparalleled beauty of the latter's wife, and reported the same to the prince of Ch'u. That prince went off at once on a visit to Shi, and was entertained with all due hospitality ; which he recompensed by carrying off both husband and wife. The one he made doorkeeper, the other he kept within his palace. She had previously meditated drowning herself in a well, and now she declined to speak for three years. Piqued with her obstinacy, the prince of Ch'u went off to conquer the territory of Shi, but with only partial success. While he was away, the faithful wife, happening to see her husband from the balcony, broke her long silence by saying to him, ' We can but die once ; why then do we consent to prolong this misery and disgrace ? Alive we can but live apart, but through death we may at ...

The two consorts of Youyu were the daughters of Emperor Yao. The eldest was Ehuang, the younger was Nüying. Shun's father was bigoted and his mother was cold and calculating. His father was called Gusou, he is an old blind man. His younger brother was called Xiang and was given to idle roaming. Shun was able to harmonize them and win them over. He served Gusou with filial reverence. His mother hated Shun and loved Xiang. But Shun still maintained his composure and harbored no ill will. The Chief of the Four Mountains recommended Shun to Yao. Yao thereupon gave Shun his two daughters in marriage so that he could observe Shun's conduct toward them. The two women served Shun in the fields and did not use their status as daughters of the Son of Heaven as a pretext for arrogant, overbearing or disrespectful behavior. They continued to behave with humility, reverence and frugality, being completely mindful of the wifely way. Gusou and Xiang plotted to murder Shun and ordered him ...