The Sorrow of Zilu

His name is Zilu. When I was a boy, I walked a hundred miles home with a bag of broken rice on my back, and squatted in the yard to eat wild vegetable dumplings. When I met Confucius on the street, I drew my sword and put it down again. I felt awkward when I put on Confucian clothes, but I didn't take them off. The Master scolded him as "wild", "for being braver than me", and "for not dying". He lowered his head and listened without leaving. When he was in middle age, he squatted by the ditch and grabbed soil to build the canal. His words broke the prison, and his breath became the soil and the canal. Chen Cai was short of food, so he gave the last handful of rice to his master and squatted on the field ridge chewing grass roots for a long time. When the Wei Kingdom was in chaos, Zigao stopped him and said, "You can't go in." He said, "I can't eat without taking shelter," and turned around. A man walked into the palace and fought with two men. His hat tassel broke and he knelt down to tie it. The first time I didn't tie it, my fingers were covered in blood, so I changed my fingers and tied it the second time. Then Ge fell from behind, squatting instead of lying down. The hat is correct. Be honest all your life. He squatted down many times in his life, and each time he gave something to others—to his parents, to his master, to the people, and to his life. Squatting down for the last time, he tied his hat tassel and did not stand up. He never knew whether that hat was right or not until his death. All he knew was that the tassel was broken and it was time to tie it up. Once it's tied, it's done.