Be Noble and Incorruptible: Do Not Pocket Lost Gold
 
As human beings, we might be poor or be in a difficult situation, but we have to understand the fundamentals of being human. We cannot acquire wealth by immoral means, and we must not lose or damage our virtue.
 
During the Spring and Autumn Periods (770 – 476 BC), Yanling Jizi, the brother of Zhu Fan, King of Wu Kingdom, once was out on patrol and saw a gold piece that someone had lost on the road. It was the month of May and very hot. A poor lumberjack passed by, draped in fur clothing because he had no money to buy linen. Jizi called out to him, "Pick up the gold on the ground."
 
The lumberjack threw his sickle to the ground, raised his eyebrows, and said angrily, "You are a noble, but why do you treat other people as if they are beneath you? You have a grand and heroic appearance, but why do you speak so rudely? I would rather wear fur clothing in hot May while chopping firewood than pick up gold that someone else has lost."
 
Yanli Jizi was very ashamed when he heard this. He hurriedly apologized to the lumberjack and asked for his name. The man replied, "You look like someone of high status. It would be a waste of time to tell you my name." He left after saying this.
 
People admired the lumberjack’s morality and personal integrity, that he was able to endure poverty and hardship without accepting immoral wealth. This is a virtue that human beings should have, and it is consistent with what has been taught in the divinely-inspired culture – human beings must be noble, pure, and ethical. We should not pocket money that we have not earned.
 
The famous writer, Yu Xin, of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420 – 589 AD), and the great poet, Li Bai, of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) both wrote poems praising this lumberjack’s integrity and action.
 
高洁清廉 不拾遗金
 
为人者可以穷困，或者身处险境，但要深知做人的本份，不可以妄取不义之财，不可以失德损德。
 
春秋时期，吴国吴王诸樊的弟弟延陵季子有一次外出巡游，看见路上有人遗失的金子。当时正值五月，天气炎热，有一位披著皮衣的穷困砍柴人在此路过，季子于是招呼砍柴人：“把那地上的金子捡起来。”
 
砍柴人将镰扔到地上，瞪大眼睛，生气的说：“你怎么地位尊贵，而把别人看的这么卑下呢？你仪态容貌豪壮，说话却这么粗野呢？我宁肯在炎热的五月，穿著皮衣砍柴，难道会去捡他人遗失在地上的金子吗？”
 
季子听后非常惭愧，连忙向这位砍柴人道歉，并请教其姓名，砍柴人告诉他说：“你从外表看是位有地位的人，怎么值得把我的名字告诉你呢。”说完便离去了。
 
后人对砍柴人这种甘愿清贫困苦，也决不妄取不义之财的德行操守非常赞赏，因为这是我们神传文化中推崇的高洁清廉、拾金不昧的做人应具备的美德。
 
南北朝时著名的文学家庾信曾为一幅《五月披裘画》题诗赞道：“披裘当夏，俗非为心，虽逢季子，不拾遗金。”
 
唐朝大诗人李白也在《杭州送裴大泽时赴卢州长史》一诗感叹：“五月披裘者，应知不取金。”