Li Gao lived during the Tang Dynasty. He was well known for being caring and respectful to his mother.

During the first year of the Shangyuan Calendar (674 AD), there was a drought in the capital. Rice was very expensive, and many people starved to death.

Li Gao saw that his salary could not support his family, so he decided to become an official in another province, where he could earn a higher salary.

Later, Li Gao made a mistake in his work and was demoted to be the principal in charge of local issues in the Wenzhou area in a different province.

The harvest in Wenzhou was also poor. The government had hundreds of thousands of hu (an ancient Chinese measurement, equal to approximately 40 quarts) of grain in storage, and Li Gao wanted to give it away to the poor. His subordinates suggested that he wait until the emperor gave permission. Li said, "If a person doesn't eat for a few days, he will starve to death. I have no time to wait! If I have to risk my life to save thousands of other lives, there could be nothing more worthy." He ordered the grain to be given away to the poor and wrote a letter to the emperor criticizing himself. After reading the letter, the emperor paid him high compliments and promoted him.

Once Li Gao went to a neighboring county to visit. He saw a white-haired woman crying. Feeling sympathetic, Li Gao asked her what was the matter. The elderly woman said, "I am of the Li family. My sons are Li Jun and Li E. They have been serving as government officials away from here for over 20 years and have never visited me. I am so poor I cannot even feed myself." At that time, both Li Jun and Li E were quite well known. Li Jun worked in the capital of the country.

After he heard this, Li Gao was furious. He said, "When a person is home, he should be obedient and kind to his family. When he is away, he should be respectful to the elderly. If he has extra time and energy, he could pursue more achievements. How could these two brothers with such low morals be government officials?" He wrote a letter to the imperial court about the matter. As a result, Li Jun and Li E were both fired from their official posts and banned from serving in the government.

Treating family elders with obedience and kindness is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation and a standard of morality. Why did ancient people focus on filial piety and give it such importance? Because filial piety is closely connected to improving one's moral standard. To be able to practice filial piety, the person must have a kind heart, which is a necessary virtue for interacting with others in society. This is the most important. Filial piety also includes other virtues such as being grateful, repaying kindnesses and so on.

If a person cannot be kind to his own family, how can he be truly kind to others? How can he "organize his family, rule the country, and bring peace to all under heaven?" Since the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), the royal court has used filial piety as one of the main standards for choosing talented individuals to serve in the government. Because Li Gao had a sincere heart of kindness and obedience towards his family, he was able to treat others kindly just like his family. That was probably why he was willing to give up his life to save the starving common people.

以孝养善

李皋是唐朝人，他以侍奉母亲孝顺而出名。

上元初年，京城发生旱灾，米价很贵，饿死了很多人。李皋看自己的俸禄无法养家，便想出任外官，这样俸禄可能会多一些。李皋后因犯了点错误被贬，出任外官，成为温州长史，掌管州中事务。

温州这里的粮食收成也很不好，州府中官粮数十万斛，李皋便想用来救济百姓。手下的官吏乞求他，让他等皇上降旨后再办。李皋说：“人几天不吃饭就会饿死，哪有时间去等待命令！如果杀了我一个人，能够救活数千人的命，没有什么比这更值得的事情了。”于是便擅自把官粮用来救济了百姓，并且自己上奏弹劾自己。皇帝看了后，对他称赞有加，升他为少府监。

李皋有一次到周边属县巡视，看见有一满头白发的老妇人在哭泣。李皋见了很可怜，便问她原因。老妇人说：“我是李氏的妻子，有两个儿子李钧和李锷，两人在外做官二十年了都没有回来过，我贫困的已经不能养活自己了。”

当时，李钧任殿中侍御史，李锷任京兆府的法曹，两人都是科举出身，很有名气。

李皋听完老妇人的话，生气的说：“在家应孝顺亲人，在外应尊敬长者，有余力然后再去努力学习。像这兄弟二人的品行，怎可在朝廷任职呢？”于是便将此事上奏朝廷，结果李钧、李锷均被除去官职，永不再录用。

“以孝事亲”是中华民族的传统美德，也是一种伦理规范。古人为什么这么重“孝道”，讲“百善孝为先”呢？ 因为“孝”与“修身”紧密相连，能够做到 “孝”，必然首先需要有一颗善良仁慈之心，而这正是为人处世所必须具备的素质，是最重要的。而且孝顺还包含了感恩、报恩等诸多方面的美德。

试想一下，如果对待自己的亲人都不能以善心待之，又怎么能去真正的善待他人？ 又如何能“齐家、治国、平天下”呢？所以自汉代起，朝廷就以“孝廉”作为选拔人才的重要考核方面。李皋正是因为有一颗真挚的孝心和善心，所以他才能像对待父母亲人一样来善待所有的人，这才是他能够不惜身家性命而执意打开粮仓，用官粮来救济百姓的原因吧！