Gifted scholar Qiu Xin held the world in disdain. When summoned by the governor, he asked whether he would be treated as a subordinate, friend or teacher, rejecting top local official posts and the Xiaolian title. The governor dared not force him into service.
Mencius advises scholars to hold moral superiority over nobles. He dismisses lords’ lavish palaces, feasts and grand hunts as worthless excess. Rooted in ancient righteous principles, he fears no powerful figures who only chase material luxury.
Pi Qiu Gong (The Man in the Fur Coat) was a native of the state of Wu. When Yanling Jizi was traveling, he saw a piece of lost gold lying in the road. He looked at the Man in the Fur Coat and said, “Pick up that gold.”