Encourage People to be Kindhearted And to Reject Immoral Customs (2 of 2)
 
Ji Xiaolan wrote in Story #2:
 
There was a beggar named Wang Xisheng with both legs disabled. He could not walk so he moved by shifting around with his hands. One day, he found a bag on the road, and it contained two hundred gold pieces (ancient monetary unit). He moved it to the side of the road and hid it in a patch of grass. He sat there and waited for the owner of the gold. After waiting for a while, a businessman named Zhang Jifei arrived anxiously looking for the bag. Wang Xisheng asked him what he was searching for. After asking a few questions and finding that the description matched the items in the bag, Wang Xisheng returned the bag to the owner. Zhang Jifei wanted to reward him with half of the gold, but Wang Xisheng declined his offer. Then Zhang Jifei took him home and offered to take care of him for the rest of his life.
 
Wang Xisheng said, "Because I made mistakes in my previous life, heaven punished me by making me unable to walk this lifetime. If I do things against heaven's will, and enjoy my life here at your home, then I will receive more punishment." He was determined to leave.
 
Later, one day, Wang Xisheng fell asleep in a temple. In his dream, he saw a drunk man pulling his legs, and it hurt very much. After the drunk left, his legs recovered and he was able to walk. Wang Xisheng lived until the Ji-Mao Year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1759 AD). Ji Xiaolan wrote a comment about this incident, "Zhang Jifei is a friend of my elder relative, and I have met him as well. Zhang Jifei personally told me this story in great detail."
 
Ji Xiaolan further comments, "Wang Xisheng's kind act should have been rewarded. However, he accepted his fate and declined the reward. The gods treasured his kindness and rewarded him by having a drunk man pull his legs to cure him. Stories # 1 and #2 both seem unreasonable, however, they manifest the highest principle of the universe." Here he is referring to the principle that good acts are rewarded and evil acts are met with karmic retribution.
 
Ji Xiaolan then wrote:
 
"There was a senior named Ge Jiezhou who criticized the editors of the local County Chronicles. He claimed that it was ludicrous to publish the above stories in the County Chronicles and it was against the rules of historical documentation." Ji Xiaolan indicated the County Chronicles published events that happened in the local community. It strictly records actual events, and it serves as a historical document. The reason for publishing the two stories is because the ordinary man and the woman experienced the presence of the gods. This is to encourage people to be compassionate and to reject degenerated social conventions and customs. It did not publish fictitious stories, but real events that are educational and meaningful."
 
Ji Xiaolan’s words, “Encourage people to be kind and to relinquish degenerate social conventions and customs" is shared by theists who believe in propagating the principle that heaven will ultimately reward good deeds and punish bad deeds, and in encouraging people to be good and not commit evil. Furthermore, the two examples stated in the County Chronicles showed the extraordinary events that happened to ordinary people when they believed in gods, therefore proving the existence of gods.
 
激发善心，砥砺薄俗 (下)
 
纪晓岚写的第二件事是：
 
有个乞丐名叫王希圣，双腿瘫痪，不能走路。用双手撑地，一点一点的移动来走路。有一天，在路上拾得一个包袱，内装二百金。他移到路边草丛里，把包袱隐藏起来，坐着不动，专门等待失金者的到来。过了好一阵儿，有个商人名叫张际飞，仓皇的赶来寻找。王希圣问他找甚么。经过叩问，寻物者所讲，与失物相符，王希圣就把这包财物，归还给了失主。张际飞要分一半金子给他，王希圣不肯收受。张际飞便把他接载回到自己的家中，表示愿意赡养他一辈子。
 
王希圣说：「我的身体残废，是老天根据我上辈子的过失，所给的惩罚。我如果违反天意，在这里坐食享福，将会遭受到更大的惩罚。」于是他毅然离去。
 
后来，有一天，王希圣困卧在一座神庙里。睡梦中忽见一个醉汉来拉他的双脚，拉得很痛。醉汉走了以后，他的腿脚便恢复了正常状态，行动自如了。王希圣活到乾隆己卯年才去世。纪晓岚还特地写明：张际飞是我家长辈的熟人，我见过他。这件事就是张际飞亲自对我讲的，述之甚详。
 
接下来，作者继续写道：
 
王希圣的善行，应该受到善报。但他以命自安，不受他人的回报。神佛把他的善心，看得非常珍贵，就用醉汉拉脚这种方式，予以回报。这件事和上面的那件事，也是看起来无理，实际上不也是内含至理吗？善恶有报是天理，当然也就是至理。
 
再接下来，纪晓岚笔锋一转，写道：
 
有一位前辈名叫戈芥舟，他批评当地《县志》编修馆的编修人员，把上述两件事写进《县志》之中，是荒诞不经，是违背写史之法。纪晓岚严正的指出：县志写出本县所发生的典型事实，「全书皆体例严谨，具有史法。其载此二事，正以见匹夫匹妇足感神明。用以激发善心，砥砺薄俗。这不是在写小说，而是写了非常有教育意义的真实的事。」
 
「激发善心，砥砺薄俗」（砥砺薄俗：就是使轻薄庸俗的社会风气，变得忠厚高尚起来），这八个字，正是一切阐述善恶有报、宣谕诸恶莫做、众善奉行的有神论者的共同心愿。「（县志中）载此二事，正以见匹夫匹妇足感神明」，意思是：县志里写的俞氏和王希圣这两位普通人的事，正足以证实神佛的存在。