Virtue Brings Prosperity to One's Family
 
Zhang Ying of the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 AD) was from Tongcheng City, Anhui Province. His father, in his early adulthood, dreamed of a deity dressed in gold armor. The deity claimed to be Wang Dun of the Jin Dynasty (265 – 420 AD), and he was hoping to be born into the Zhang family. Zhang Ying's father disagreed because of the fact that Wang Dun was a minister that brought about disorder. The deity explained, "It wasn't so. When the Jin Dynasty was about to decline, I was born to be a minister of disobedience in accordance with the change of fortune. Now it's an era of clarity and brightness, and I'm to arrive and become a minister of virtue." Zhang Ying's father woke up in shock. Soon afterwards, he had a son. But the son died in just a few years.
 
A few years later, Zhang Ying's father again dreamed of Wang Dun who was to be born into his family. He scolded Wang, "You're indeed a minister of dishonesty. You want to fool me again. I won't have you." Wang Dun answered, "I looked around each of the major families south of the Yangtze River. No single family matches yours in terms of blissfulness and virtue. I'm not going to leave this time."
 
Soon, a son was born into the Zhang family. It was Zhang Ying himself, and he was also called Dunfu (in Chinese it means the "return of Dun"). In the sixth year of the Emperor Kangxi (reigned from 1662 – 1722 AD) of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Ying ranked as a Jinshi (or advanced scholar) in the Palace Examination. He became the Grand Scholar of the Wenhua Palace and was in charge of royal rituals at the same time. He was a famous minister and renowned writer of that era. Zhang Ying's son, Zhang Tingyu, served three emperors of the Qing dynasty as a key minister.
 
Why did Wang Dun claim that the blissfulness and virtue of the Zhang's family was unmatched? Those who knew passed down the story that in the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) Zhang's family was very poor. The ancestor Zhang had two sons and both studied traditional teachings and cultivated virtue. One day when he was working in the field, he found a huge amount of silver buried in the land he was farming, and it was estimated to be over 1,000,000 ounces. The elderly Zhang buried the silver the same way it was hidden and planned to use it for charity. He did not tell his two sons until the moment he was about to die. He ordered his two sons to wait until a year of natural disaster to dig out the silver to help victims. A few years after the elderly Zhang passed away, a famine hit. The two sons followed their father's instruction and dug out the silver, which turned out to truly be over 1,000,000 ounces. They donated the entire treasure to help people who suffered from the disaster. Countless people survived as a result of the Zhang family's generosity. The county commissioner was going to file a report afterwards to request the imperial court to reward the Zhang family. The two sons firmly declined.
 
By the time the Qing Dynasty was established, Zhang's family became prosperous. Their descendants Zhang Ying and Zhang Tingyu both took the position of Grand Scholar, and so did their brothers and cousins. People have all attributed the accumulation of kindness and virtue to their ancestors.
 
积德家昌
 
张英是清朝安徽桐城人，他的父亲年轻时曾在梦中见到一金甲神，神人自称是晋朝时的王敦，想要托生到张家。张父以王敦是乱臣而拒绝，神人说：“不是这样。当晋朝要丧败时，我应运而生作了逆臣；现在天下清明，我应运而生作良臣。”张父惊醒后，不久果然生了个儿子，但没几岁就夭折了。
 
又过了数年后，张父再次梦到王敦要来托生，张父斥责道：“你果然是奸臣，又想来欺骗我，我不要你。”王敦说：“我遍观江南诸家，没有哪家的福德能比得上您张家了，我这次来了就不会再走了。”
 
不久，张家就生了儿子张英，张英字“敦复”就是这个原因。康熙六年，张英中进士，官至文华殿大学士兼礼部尚书，成为当时的名臣和文学家。张英就是大清三朝元老张廷玉的父亲。
 
为什么王敦会说张家的福德无人能比呢？有知道的人说，在明朝时，张家那时很贫困，其先祖生了两个儿子，都读书修德。老人一天锄地种菜，发现地下埋藏了足有百万两银子。老人将钱按原样掩埋好，准备以后用来做善事。直到临死时，他才将此事告诉了自己的两个儿子，并命他们等荒年时挖出来赈济灾民。老人死后又过了数年，遇到大饥荒，两个儿子遵照父亲的遗愿将银子挖了出来，果真有百万两之多，他们将钱全部用来救济了灾民，赖此得以存活的人不计其数。事后，县令想为张家请赏，但两个儿子坚辞不受。
 
等到大清立国，张家逐渐昌盛起来，张家子孙张英和张廷玉相继官拜大学士，兄弟子侄都很显贵。这都是张家祖上行善积德换来的。