中国的传统文化能够善化人民，使人民重道德、重操守、守信义。古人认为“不贪是宝”，这不仅在承传中华民族传统文化的文人，亦即“士”阶层中的共识，即使是天天与钱财打交道的商人，也很重视自己的道德操守，所谓“君子爱财，取之有道”。

明朝名臣杨博，字惟约，蒲州人。杨博的父亲杨瞻（官至御史）做过商人，曾经在淮扬地方经商，当时有一位从关中来的盐商，将一千金的钱寄放在杨家，请杨瞻暂时代为保管。不料那盐商离开以后，竟然一去不回，杨瞻不知如何才好，便将那一千金，埋藏在花盆中，上面种植花卉，并派人到关中去寻找。后来找到了盐商家，不料那盐商已经去世了，家中只有一个儿子。杨瞻得知消息后，便邀请那商人的儿子到杨家来，指着花盆说：“这是你父亲生前所寄托的金钱，现在就交由你带回去吧！”那商人的儿子感到非常惊奇，不敢收取。杨瞻说：“这是你家的财物，何必推辞呢？”于是说出原由，那商人的儿子非常感动，叩谢携带那笔金钱回去。

后来杨瞻生了儿子叫杨博，自幼聪明好学，嘉靖年间中举进士，官任户部郎中，累官蓟辽总督，屡次退却寇盗有功，其后召回朝中，升任吏部尚书。明世宗赏识杨博办事安闲有识量，倚重他如左右手。杨博的儿子俊民，也中举进士，累官户部尚书，世代显贵。

试观杨博的父亲杨瞻，受人之托，自始至终忠人之事，虽然托寄人发生变故，不来取回，可是杨瞻不但丝毫不贪，而且千里迢迢，寻访其人，并将财物交还遗孤。

一个平民商人，竟能具有可以托孤寄命的人格操持，本人得到福报，而且德被子孙，光耀门第，世代贵显。足证天报厚德，丝毫不爽。

Traditional Chinese culture is about cultivating kindness and promoting morality. Ancient Chinese people believed that it is a treasure to be free of greed. It was an ancient Chinese motto shared among not only the elite stratum of the learned men, but also among common merchants. In fact, there is a common saying in China, "A man of virtue obtains wealth by honest and moral means."

There was a famous Chinese royal court official in the Ming Dynasty named Yang Bo, who was also known as Yang Weiyue, from Puzhou (today's Yongji), Shanxi Province. His father, Yang Zhan, used to be a merchant in the Huiyang region before he became an imperial censor, whose duty was to censor and impeach government officials. When Yang Zhan was still a merchant, a salt dealer from Guanzhong region left one thousand gold coins with Yang Zhan for safekeeping. However, he never returned to pick up the gold. For security, Yang Zhan hid the gold coins in the soil of a flowerpot. Meanwhile, he sent a messenger to the Guanzhong region to look for the salt dealer. When the messenger finally found the salt dealer's home, he was informed that he had already passed away, leaving his only son behind. After Yang Zhan heard the news, he invited the salt dealer's son to his home in Puzhou. Yang Zhan pointed at the flowerpot where the gold was hidden and told him, "Your father left one thousand gold coins at my home for safekeeping. It is time you bring them back home." The salt dealer's son was astonished and hesitated to take the gold. Yang Zhan told him, "The gold belongs to your family. Why do you hesitate to claim it?" He told the salt dealer's son how the gold coins were left in his care. The young man was very touched. He kowtowed to Yang Zhan before he left with his father's gold coins.

Later Yang Zhan had a son named Yang Bo, who was very bright and studied diligently since he was little. He won first place in the provincial civil service examination during the Jiajing Era (1521 - 1566 A.D.) of Emperor Shizong's reign. He was Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance before he was appointed as Governor of Jiliao Prefecture. Because he was highly accomplished and defeated a Japanese bandit invasion, he was summoned back to the royal court and made Minister of the Ministry of Finance. Admiring Yang Bo for his composure, vision, and generosity, Emperor Shizong valued him as one of his top aides. Yang Bo had a son named Yang Junmin, who also won first place in the provincial civil service examination and later also became Minister of the Ministry of Finance. Yang's family, starting with Yang Zhan, remained a family of wealth, prominence, and power for many generations.

Yang Zhan fulfilled his duty of safekeeping the gold coins. Although the owner of the gold coins failed to come back and claim the gold before he died, Yang Zhan did not steal the gold. He sent people to travel thousands of miles to look for the owner of the gold and passed the coins to the owner's orphaned son. As a businessman, in a profession stereotyped as greedy, Yang Zhan had a lofty character. He proved himself as a man that could be trusted with money and could be trusted to look after an orphan.

In return, he was blessed with good fortune. In addition, his good fortune was extended to his offspring. For generations, his family enjoyed wealth and prominence. This is a good example of how Heaven rewards those with lofty characters and morality.