One Is Blessed to be Told of One’s Mistakes
 
Everyone makes mistakes, but only the virtuous ones are capable of listening to others' opinions and criticisms with an open mind. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), known for his broadmindedness and wisdom, was such a virtuous and wise leader, which is rarely seen throughout history. The following are a few stories from history books about the emperor that show he was willing and even delighted to have his errors pointed out by his officials.
 
Emperor Taizong once resented Mu Yu, a court official responsible for the imperial gardens, and ordered his execution. Hearing the news the crown prince hurried to his father to plead and reason with him not to behead the man. Very pleased, Emperor Taizong said, "First I had Wei Zheng, who used to come to me every morning and evening, offering his frank opinions. After Wei died, Liu Ji, Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou, and Chu Suiliang have continued that tradition. My son has been around me a great deal and saw that I like to hear different opinions, so today he came to advise me to be prudent. With practice, advising has become natural!"
 
Emperor Taizong once turned to his officials and said, "Today, I want to hear others talk about my errors. You may go ahead." Everyone seemed to be saying the same thing: "Your Majesty has achieved peace with grand virtue, and there has been nothing you've done wrong." The only one that acted differently was Liu Ji, an official from the executive branch of the imperial government. Liu stepped forward and said, "Recently there were people who submitted memorials to Your Majesty that were not in keeping with the imperial edicts. Sometimes Your Majesty would fly into a rage and try to get to the bottom of it right then and there. At the time, no one dared to utter a word, but this is perhaps not the result anyone wanted to see." "You are absolutely right. I will change," said the emperor.
 
Emperor Taizong despised corrupt officials and planned to take harsh measures against them. He arranged bribes to be sent to government officials at various levels as a test. There was one official who accepted the gift. Afterwards, the emperor ordered him executed. Pei Ju, the official in charge of civil administration, reasoned, "Bribe takers should be executed for sure, but Your Majesty lured him into it then brought him to justice. This is what people call, 'Deceiving someone into committing a crime.' This is not a method that accords with virtue and justice." At those words, the emperor turned to the group and said, "Pei Ju has the courage to articulate his argument right in front of the imperial court, instead of nodding agreement to everything I say or do. If everything were dealt with this way, nothing would be impossible to be settled, right?"
 
When Emperor Taizong first ascended to the throne, he liked to go on hunting trips. Sun Fujia, an official from the justice division, advised the emperor not to go, on the grounds that it was not a good example for later generations. The emperor said, "You could point out my error, and I could amend it. This way there is hope for the nation!"
 
In the first year of the Zhenguan Era (627 AD), Gao Feng, an official for drafting imperial documents, cited five cases in which the emperor had not used the right people, did not cherish financial and human resources, and so on. Emperor Taizong couldn't have been more pleased to see this and promoted Gao. Later, on more than one occasion, Gao submitted memorials to the emperor, highlighting improper behaviors of the court, every word in them true and sincere. The emperor bestowed a piece of medicinal stalactite, saying “You offered me words of wisdom akin to medicine, I also give you medicine in return.”
 
Once a strange comet passed across the sky, an event that lasted more than a hundred days. Emperor Taizong asked his officials what such an omen might indicate. Yu Shinan, one of his ministers, stepped forward and cited the example of King Jing of Qi (547 – 490 BC), an excellent monarch who ruled the Qi State in the Spring-Autumn Period (800 – 300 BC). A similar phenomenon involving a comet occurred then but passed quietly under King Jing's virtuous rule. Yu advised Emperor Taizong that he should keep a clear head and refrain from being arrogant despite his achievements and the long period of peace, and that he could never be too prudent. Emperor Taizong responded, "Indeed, I led a rebellion at the age of 18 and had the nation at age 24. Before I turned 30, I ascended to the throne. I thought that no other monarchs had achieved what I have in terms of restoring order, so I became too proud and arrogant, looking down on everyone. The unusual phenomenon is probably an omen from Heaven. Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BC) defeated the other six states, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (604 – 617 AD) once seemed to own everything under the sun, but they both failed in the end because of their arrogance. How can I not draw a lesson from them?"
 
Court official Zhang Xingcheng was at one of the imperial dinners when he heard the emperor talk about people from Shandong Province and those from Guanzhong in central China. Zhang sensed that the emperor's tone was biased, so he said, "The Son of Heaven should treat the world as his home and should not differentiate between the east and west. Otherwise, he is showing to the public that he is narrow-minded." Emperor Taizong agreed wholeheartedly and handsomely rewarded Zhang. From then on, the emperor always sought Zhang's opinions before making any important decisions. Once, Emperor Taizong mentioned to his officials that many emperors and kings in history achieved peace only with the assistance of their generals, whereas he was not only a ruler, but also a general and a minister at the same time. Hearing that, Zhang quickly submitted a statement of opinion, pointing out that this was an act of competing for credit with his subjects. The emperor agreed.
 

诚心求谏　闻过则喜
 
人都有过失，而能够诚心听取他人的意见和指责，并且虚心改正，这只有有德之人才能做到。唐太宗是历史上少有的圣君明主，他以能广开言路、虚心纳谏而著称，以下是史书上记载的几则唐太宗「诚心求谏，闻过则喜」的小故事，身为天子的那份谦逊和博大胸怀足可以垂范后世。
 
太宗曾经怒恨苑西监穆裕，下诏在朝堂斩首。皇太子急忙劝谏，太宗高兴的说：「朕开始得到魏徵，他能够早晚向我进谏。魏徵去世后，刘洎、岑文本、马周、褚遂良继续进谏。儿子在我的膝前，看到我喜欢听取谏言时间长了，因此今天也来进谏，确实是习惯成自然呀！」
 
有一次太宗忽然对群臣说：「朕今天想听人说自己的过错，你们为朕说说。」很多大臣都推辞说陛下用盛德达到天下太平，他们没有发现有甚么过错。只有尚书右丞刘洎说道：「可是近来有人上书不符合圣旨，有时陛下当面追根问底，没有人不羞愧汗颜，这恐怕不是进言的人乐意走的路。」太宗说：「你的话说的对，朕能改正。」
 
太宗痛恨贪官污吏，要严加惩处他们，于是让人暗中派人给各曹司赠送物品，有一名官吏接受了馈赠，太宗下诏斩杀他。当时的民部尚书裴矩说：「官吏受贿固然应该处死，然而陛下用计谋哄骗他，又将他绳之以法，这就是所说的欺骗人去犯罪，这不是用德义引导人的办法。」太宗听后，对群臣说：「裴矩竟能在朝堂之上争论，不当面顺从，如果事事如此，天下有不能治理的吗？」
 
太宗刚即位时，屡次出游而且飞马骑射，当时的大理少卿孙伏伽进谏，认为这不是垂范后代的事情，不能这样做，太宗说：「你能指出朕的过失，朕能改正过失，天下可能就有治了！」
 
贞观初年，当时的中书舍人高冯上疏进谏，共例举了皇帝用人不当、不爱惜财力劳力等五件事，太宗看了后非常称赞，进授其为太子右庶子。高冯后来又多次上疏阐述朝政得失，言辞诚恳真切，太宗赐给了他一剂钟乳，说：「你进献给我的是药石之方，朕也用药石回报。」
 
有一次彗星出现异象，持续了一百多天，太宗询问群臣，大臣虞世南举了齐景公行德政，使彗星异象消失的例子，劝谏太宗不要因为功高而自夸，不要因为太平日久而骄奢，要慎始慎终。太宗说：「是的，我确实没有齐景公那样的过错，我十八岁时举义兵，二十四岁平定了天下，不到三十岁即登上帝位，自认为从三王以来，拨乱反正的君主没有能像我这样的，所以自骄自夸，轻视天下的士人。上天显示异常现象，怕是因为这个缘故吧？秦始皇铲除六国，隋炀帝富有四海，终因骄傲而失败，我怎能不引以为戒呢？」
 
殿中侍御史张行成有一次陪侍宴会，太宗谈到山东人和关中人，语气有所偏向，张行成说：「天子以四海为家，不能以东西作为界限，这样是向人表明自己狭隘了。」太宗称好，赐给他一匹名马，钱十万，衣服一套。并且从此以后遇上大的政事，都让他参与议论。太宗有一次对群臣谈到历史上很多帝王，都因得到了有能力的将相辅佐才平定四海，而他自己身为君主，却一身兼行将相事务。张行成因此上疏，认为这是与臣下争功，太宗接受了他的意见。