In the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), there was a gentleman named Li Jingrang that lived in Luoyang City in what is now China's Henan Province. His father died young, and his mother, Zheng Shi (which means her maiden name is Zheng but her first name is unknown), ran the family strictly but with integrity, and all of her three sons were very successful.

Once, an old wall behind her house collapsed after a rain, and an amount of coins that could fill a boat was discovered. Her maids ran to tell Zheng Shi, who burnt some incense, and prayed to the heavens: "I've heard that gain without pain brings disasters. Heaven must have pitied my poor situation, and my husband must have accumulated virtue, so you brought me these coins. I only hope the children can be successful even without their father around. I dare not touch this extra money!" She soon gave orders to have the coins re-buried and the wall re-built to cover them up.

Zheng Shi strictly disciplined her first son, Li Jingrang, when he made mistakes, even after he grew up and became an important official. Once he beat to death with a stick one of his soldiers who had disobeyed him. The whole army regiment was angry at his cruelty, and they almost rebelled against him. When Zheng Shi heard this, she hurried to the camp, sat in the middle of the room, and ordered Li Jingrang to stand in the middle of the yard. She condemned him: "The Emperor bestowed upon you an important duty to guard one side of the country. How can you kill an innocent person just because of your anger? You have no excuse to use capital punishment like this. If you cause one side of the country to be restless, not only have you let down the Emperor, but also I have no dignity to face our ancestors. I will die in shame!"

She ordered her son's clothes to be stripped off, planning to whip him. All of the other army officials and soldiers begged her not to, and they were all crying. After a long while, Zheng Shi released her son, and the army returned to peace.

Zheng Shi's three sons, Li Jingrang, Li Jingwen, and Li Jingzhuang, all passed the highest official test within the top three of their year and became high ranking officials.

Pay attention to accumulating virtue and learning how to act as a human being is much more important than having wealth. That is why Zheng Shi would've rather been poor than use money that came without effort. She set an example for her children with regard to virtue. When her children made mistakes, she never helped to cover them up or defended them. Instead, she let her children learn right from wrong and sincerely correct their mistakes. One of the reasons that the children of the Li family were so successful is because Zheng Shi strictly educated her children with integrity, in addition to the virtue accumulated by their ancestors.

深明大义 严谨治家

唐朝人李景让的母亲郑氏，她很早就守寡，家境贫困，住在东都洛阳。郑氏治家严谨，深明大义，在她的亲自教育下，几个孩子都很有成就。

有一次，李景让家后面的一堵旧墙因下雨而陷塌了，结果在土砖瓦砾中发现了很多钱，几乎能装满一船。奴婢们兴高采烈的跑去告诉郑氏。郑氏看了后，焚香向上天祷告，说：“我听说不劳而获会给自己带来灾祸。老天一定是因为我去世的丈夫积了德，怜悯我家贫困所以才赐给我们这些钱财，我只希望这几个孤儿将来学问有成，这些份外的钱我不敢取！”随即命人将钱掩埋回原来的地方，修筑好旧墙。

李景让年纪很大了，官位显达后，如犯了错误，母亲郑氏仍依旧严厉的教诲他。李景让在浙西做官时，曾经一气之下将一个违背他意旨的部下杖打致死，结果导致军中将士愤怒，眼看就要发生兵变。母亲郑氏知道后，赶到了那里，自己坐在厅堂中，让李景让到庭院中站着，责问他：“天子交给你镇守一方的重任，国家的刑法哪能成为你个人喜怒的凭借，由你随意杀害无罪的人！万一造成一方不安宁，岂只是辜负了朝廷，就是年老的我也要含羞而死，我有什么脸面去见你的先人呢！”说完就命人将李景让的衣服扒去，准备鞭挞李景让。将士们见此情形，都为李景让求情，最后以至于哭泣恳求，郑氏过了很久这才将李景让释放了，军中也安定下来。

郑氏的三个儿子李景让、李景温、李景庄都进士及第，李景让历任中书舍人、礼部待郎等职，为官正直清廉、有节操，德高望重；李景温官至尚书右丞，也很正直，政绩卓著；李景庄也做到高官。

重视德行修养，学会如何做人，这比多少钱财都重要。所以郑氏宁肯贫困，也决不动不劳而获的钱财，这是他以身作则对孩子进行道德教育；孩子犯错，决不能一味溺爱而去帮助掩盖和庇护，而应让孩子明辨是非，诚心悔改。李家子孙能有如此成就，除了祖上积德，也与其母深明大义、严谨的教育态度有关。