Chinese Æsop:

Ch'in Hsi recommended Pa Li Hsi to Duke Mu who, however, did not pay attention to it. Then Ch'in Hsi went out of the front door, bowed down his head, and knocked it on the ground, so that it broke to pieces, and died. This affected Duke Mu so deeply, that he took Po Li Hsi into his service.  The meaning of this story is that a worthy in recommending a good man did not spare his own life, knocking his head on the ground, that it broke, and died, all with the object to further his friend.

During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a remarkable archer, Hsiung Ch'u Tse of Ch'ü, he could shoot at an weeping willows leaf a hundred steps away, with a hundred shots he hit it a hundred times. One night, he went back home from a feast, a bit drunk. In the dark he saw a stone lying on the ground, which he took for a crouching tiger. He grasped his bow, and shot at it. The arrow disappeared up to the feathers. The next morning, he came back to the spot where he shot the tiger, intending to take back his trophy. To his surprise, there was no tiger there rather than a stone. Out of fright the arrow was shot with such a force, that it entered deep into the stone! Some said that the archer was actually Yang Yu Chi of Ch'u State, others speak of Li Kuang, who was a general of Han dynasty. Instead of a tiger, some speak of a rhinoceros, anyway, both being fierce animals, it amounts to the same.

During Spring and Autumn period, there was a loyal official in Wei: — Hung Yen, who was sent abroad as envoy of Duke Ai of Wei. Before he returned, a monster had attacked the Wei, and killed the duke, and eaten his flesh, leaving only the liver. When Hung Yen returned from his mission, he reported himself to the liver. Out of sorrow, that Duke Ai had died, and was eaten up, so that his liver had no resting-place, he took a knife, ripped up his stomach, took all its contents out, put the liver of Duke Ai in, and expired.

King Chou Hsin is said to be a drunkard, he passed the whole night drinking. Sediments lay about in mounds, and there was a lake of wine, which filled three thousand persons sucking liquor like cattle, and Chou was swimming in Wine Lake, stopping neither by day nor by night. There is another tradition that Chou had made a forest by hanging up meat, and caused naked males and females to play a cat and mouse game, chasing each other in this forest. King Chou Hsin was famous for his for gigantic strength. His strength was such, that he could twist iron, and straighten out a hook, pull out a beam, and replace it by a pillar. Like the tyrant king of Hsia Chieh , King Chou's debauchery arose from a passionate attachment to the woman who became his concubine, by name Ta Chi , the beautiful daughter of the Chief of Su. Ta Chi added horrible inhumanity to the extravagance and disgraceful revelry. She invented many most horrible tortures, the heartlessly breaking a men's shin bo...

Ch'ên Chung Tse belongs to an ancient and noble family of Ch'i. His elder brother Tai received from Ko a revenue of 10,000 chung, but he considered his brother's emolument to be unrighteous, and would not live on it, and in the same way he considered his brother's house to be unrighteous, and would not dwell in it. Avoiding his brother and leaving his mother, he went and dwelt in Mountain Wu-ling. Living in Wu-ling, he himself builds a cottage,  plants the millet, and weaves sandals of hemp, and his wife twists hempen thread, to barter them. He was so poor that in one occasion for three days was without food, till he could neither hear nor see. Over a well grew a plum tree, the fruit of which had been more than half-eaten by worms. He crawled to it, and tried to eat some of the fruit, when, after swallowing three mouthfuls, he recovered his sight and hearing. One day afterwards, he returned to their house, when it happened that some one sent his brother a present ...

Once upon a time, a poor Man named Shu Hsiang, who lived with her mother. By luck or unlucky fate, he met a beautiful lady. But his mother would not allow him to marry her. Shu Hsiang felt very angry, and remonstrated his mother. But his mother replied: " In the depths of mountains and in vast marshes dragons and snakes really grow, she is beautiful, but you are of a poor family, I am afraid, lest she give birth to a dragon or a snake, which would bring mishap upon you. " Nevertheless, Shu Hsiang's mother then allowed her son to be married, and let the beautiful lady go to the chamber of her husband, and she begot a son, named Shu Hu. Owing to his beauty and hero-like strenghth, Shu Hu became a favourite of the King, but during an uprising, the people of the kingdom expelled their king, and Shu Hu was killed. The moral of this story is, being an exceptional woman by her beauty, she would give birth to an extraordinary son, and it would be dangerous for an ordinary...

Chang Liang, Marquis of Liu, dealt a blow at Ch'in Shih Huang Ti with a club, but by mistake hit one of the chariots of his retinue. Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, infuriated, gave orders to search for Chang Liang everywhere, but he changed his name and concealed himself in Hsia-pei, where he had always leisure to stroll about at pleasure. Up the river Sse, there was an old man in coarse clothes, who came to Chang Liang's place. He had just lost one shoe down the river, therefore he said to Chang Liang, " Go down, and fetch me my shoe, my boy." — Chang Liang grew angry, and was going to give him a beating, but noticing, how strong the old man looked, be repressed bis feelings, and went down to fetch the shoe, which he offered him on his knees. The old man slipped it on his foot, and went away laughing. Chang Liang felt greatly excited. When the old man had gone to about a Li's distance, he returned. "You can be taught, my boy," be said, "Five days hen...