debt, pay it back, pay up, promise, punishment, qianlong period, qing dynasty, reincarnation, vow, your word is your bond

If You Owe It, You Must Pay It Back

There is a saying: “Your word is your bond.” If you owe something, you must pay it back. One of the first lessons we all learn is that when we make sacrifices for what we want in life, we must pay back what we owe. There were two good friends, Lan and Qiu, who lived ...

Michael Segarty

Chinese landscaped gardens.

Elderly Man Tricked a Rich Boy Into Losing His Fortune

Born into a respected family with wealth, riches, and good fortune, you would imagine that that is a great start in life. There was once a rich boy who indulged excessively in drinking and gambling until he lost all his wealth and inheritance, and was driven to desperation. At the time of his despair, an elderly ...

Michael Segarty

Gold ingots.

Why the Color Yellow Filled the World of Ancient Chinese Culture

According to legend, the patriarch of Chinese civilization was the Yellow Emperor. The birthplace of Chinese civilization was the Yellow Earth Plateau (Loess Plateau). The cradle of the Chinese nation was the Yellow River, and the descendants of the Yellow Emperor have yellowish skin. Since ancient times, the color yellow has been an integral part ...

Jessica Kneipp

A golden buddha statue with a yellow robe.

Hidden Treasure Under the Plum Tree

There was a true-life story about the “Hidden Treasure Under the Plum Tree” circulating in Huating County (now known as Songjiang District, Shanghai). This treasure-finding tale took place during the end of the Qing Dynasty. The protagonist of this story was a poor and humble man who people addressed as Han Weng. Han Weng was good-natured ...

Michael Segarty

Plums on a plum tree.

A Disabled Beggar Saves Lives and Heaven Grants Him a Miracle

In the time of the Qing Dynasty, there was an almshouse in Tianchang County where beggars who had nowhere to go could live. On the eve of the New Year, Mao Jun, who lived in the almshouse with his wife, went to the streets to beg as usual with another beggar who carried him, as ...

Helen London

A beggar on the street.

A Tale of Immediate Reward for Virtue and Doing a Good Deed

It is said that a person is rich and prosperous for a reason. Accumulation of virtue, in this life or from previous lives, can be exchanged into wealth and prosperity. This is a true story from the Qing Dynasty of immediate reward for having virtue and doing a good deed. In the Shunzhi era, an elderly ...

Tatiana Denning

A hoard of Chinese coins.

Remarkable Event in the Life of the Great Emperor Kangxi (Part 1)

The Great Emperor Kangxi was one of the longest-reigning emperors during China’s Qing Dynasty. He came to the throne at the age of 7 and took charge of all affairs by the age of 14. Having a very eventful and accomplished life, he passed away at the age of 69. His 61-year reign (1661-1722) was one of ...

Michael Segarty

The young Kangxi Emperor.

During the Opium Wars, a Story of Virtue and Wealth (Part 2)

During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, foreign businesspeople brought massive amounts of opium into China, leading the people to take on incorrect social values and ruin their health. In the eighteenth year of Daoguang (1838), the imperial court appointed Lin Zexu as the imperial minister and sent him to Guangzhou to ban opium. ...

Raven Montmorency

Artwork depicting Chinese soldiers fighting the British in the Second Opium War.

During the Opium Wars, a Story of Virtue and Wealth (Part 1)

During the time of the Opium Wars in China, Zeng Guofan led the Hunan army with full authority from the Emperor and was responsible for all the financial management, but he never embezzled any of the army’s money. At the time, the salt trade was a way of making money using coupons to exchange during ...

Raven Montmorency

Painting that depicts the Opium Wars.

Karma: The Price of a Coin

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, a scene unfolded at the Lianji Bookstore in a Beijing street where a young man was reading a book near the counter. Another customer in front of the counter was paying for his book. One of his coins fell to the ground and rolled to the side ...

Nspirement Staff

A stack of coins.