When Emperor Yao ruled the country, he appointed Bocheng Zigao as the head of one of the provinces. After Yao's death, the throne passed to Shun, and from him to Emperor Yu. Then Bochen resigned and went home.
Yu was very upset that such a wise official left his post, and went to visit him. When the emperor came to Bochen, he was working in the field. Yu hurriedly approached him, bowed and said:
“When Yao was emperor, you were appointed head of the province. Yao handed over the throne to Shun, and when the title of emperor passed from him to me, you resigned. And you, as I see, became a simple peasant and took up the plow. Why did you do this?
Zigao left the plow and said:
“When Yao was emperor, people lived according to their conscience and did not demand rewards for this, did not do evil, although they were not afraid of punishment. You punish and show mercy, but people have not become any better. And I know that from now on, people will follow the path of virtue less and less often, and there will be more and more severe punishments for disobedience. The seed of future unrest has already been thrown into the ground. So leave me and don't interfere with my work.
With these words, he again took up the plow and followed the ox without looking back.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru