Ji Xiaolan was a scholar during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He was well-read and extremely resourceful in tight situations.
One day, Ji Xiaolan was summoned to drink with Emperor Qianlong. The emperor suddenly had an idea to make fun of Ji Xiaolan. He said, “Ji Xiaolan, as you are so knowledgeable, tell me what does “loyalty and filial obedience” mean in our forefathers’ eyes?” Ji Xiaolan didn’t realize the intentions behind the question and said without much thought, “According to our forefathers, loyalty means that if the emperor orders his minister to die, the minister has to die. Those who follow such orders are loyal ministers. Filial obedience means that if a father asks his son to die, the son has to die. Those who follow such orders are filial sons.”
Emperor Qianlong nodded at his words, saying, “Are you my loyal minister?” Ji Xiaolan hurried to answer, “Yes, I am -I am loyal to the Qing Court and loyal to my emperor.” Hearing this, Emperor Qianlong smiled and said, “To show how loyal you are to me, go and drown yourself in the Taiye Pool!” Ji Xiaolan realized that he had been tricked by the emperor, but he could do nothing but obey the order. Ji Xiaolan went outside towards the Taiye Pool,while Emperor Qianlong was laughing inside. The emperor was wondering how this wise man would react to his unreasonable request. After a long while, Ji Xiaolan hadn’t returned. Emperor Qianlong felt a little regretful and guilty, “I carried the joke a little too far perhaps. I hope Ji Xiaolan has not jumped into the pool.” At this time, Ji Xiaolan hurriedly came back. Emperor Qianlong asked, “Ji Xiaolan, I ordered you to jump into the pool. How dare you come back?”
Ji Xiaolan answered, “I did go to the Taiye Pool and was prepared to jump in, when I met someone. Do you know who it was? It was Qu Yuan, the great poet from the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC). Qu Yuan asked me why I had come here to drown myself. The reason why he jumped into the Miluojiang River is that his emperor was stupid and fatuous. He wondered whether my emperor was another fatuous man. I told him that my emperor was not fatuous. Instead, he is wise and brilliant. Hearing my words, Qu Yuan advised me not to drown myself, because if I did, my emperor would be believed to be a fatuous man. Taking into account what he said, I decided to come back, as I don’t want my emperor to be mistaken as someone fatuous.”
Emperor Qianlong knew what Ji Xiaolan said was not true. But he still felt pleased because both Ji Xiaolan and Qu Yuan regarded him as a wise man. He thus said to Ji Xiaolan, “What a silver tongue you have! I hereby spare your life!”
