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The Master said, “The noble person is calm and composed but not arrogant; the petty person is arrogant but not calm.”
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In Strange Tales from Liaozhai: The Daoist Priest, a ragged Daoist priest befriends Scholar Han — a nobleman fond of hosting banquets — and his neighbor Xu.
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The pursuit of Daoist cultivation is a recurring theme in classical Chinese literature. For instance, Journey to the West’s Sun Wukong voyages to the Spirit Terrace, Square-Inch Mountain seeking immortality from Patriarch Subodhi (Subhuti).
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The local gentry are holding a grand banquet for a newly appointed prefect, and many musicians are here to entertain the party.
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A charlatan informed the King of Yan that he could make him immortal, and the prince bade one of his subjects learn this art; but before the envoy could do so the stranger died. Then the prince, in great anger, executed his subject.
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He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his legs does not walk (easily). (So), he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; he who is self- conceited has no superiority…