Author: Mu Shi Publication Date: June 0, 2007122:14 Copy link

"Clean hands", also known as "clean hands", is a praise for honest officials in ancient times. This "sleeve" refers to a sleeve. In ancient times, officials and people with positions wore robes. The robe sleeves are wide and big, and they can hold things, just like the pockets of clothes now.

This idiom means that there is nothing in the sleeve of a robe, only two pockets of breeze. To put it bluntly, that is to say, officials are not corrupt and accepting bribes.

The story of Yu Qian mentioned in Du Gong Tan Amin An Zu is the origin of this idiom.

Yu Qian was an outstanding official and a brilliant poet in Ming Dynasty. He was an official of Xuanzong, Yingzong and Jing Zong in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, most officials were corrupt and took bribes. Those officials from other places or Beijing officials who were sent to perform official duties even took the opportunity to search for the people's wealth and cream. When they arrive in Beijing, they will also collect a lot of tributes and gifts for the emperor and the powerful people in the DPRK, so as to strive for promotion and reward. But Yu Qian doesn't come to this one. It is said that when Yu Qian was an assistant minister of the Ministry of War, he once visited Henan and returned to Beijing empty-handed and wrote a poem:

Spaghetti mushrooms and incense are harmful to people.

The wind blows the sleeves to the sky, so as not to talk short.

Spa, mushrooms and incense are all folk local products, and ordinary officials often bring them to Beijing as gifts. Yu Qian said in his poem that such things are for the people to enjoy. Just because officials are recruiting and plundering the people's fat and cream, the people are miserable. Yu Qian went on to say that I didn't bring anything, but I brought a clean stream to Beijing to appear before the emperor, so as not to be criticized by the people.

1457, Yingzong launched a "change to seize the door" to regain the throne. Yu Qian became a victim of the power struggle in the imperial court, was falsely accused of "treason" by Yingzong and was killed. When I went to the property, I didn't find any extra property in Yu Qian's house.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yang Zhen, the secretariat of Jingzhou, was transferred to Donglai County. He took office from Jingzhou to Donglai, passing through Changyi on the way. Wang Mi, the county magistrate of Changyi, received him warmly. It turns out that Wang Mi is also from Jingzhou, and Yang Zhen has become his immediate boss, and he will be needed to support him in the future. With these two relationships, Wang Mi quietly came to Yang Zhen's residence in the middle of the night with gold and said to Yang Zhen, "Thanks to the recommendation of adults, young people were appointed as this county magistrate. Changyi doesn't have any special products. I only give ten catties of gold to adults as a token of my appreciation. Please accept it, I hope adults will take care of it in the future! "

Seeing so much golden gold, Yang Zhen looked angry and said unhappily, "As an old friend, I know you very well, but why don't you know me?" Wang Mi whispered, "it's already late at night. No one will know. Please rest assured! "

Yang Zhen laughed, pushed the door open with his hand, patted Wang Mi on the shoulder and said, "God knows, earth knows, you know, I know, how can you say no one knows?" You'd better take the gold quickly! "Seeing that Wang Mi could not please, she had to go back with the gold.

Yang Zhen lived frugally all his life, being an honest official, followed by future generations, being a vegetarian, and going out on foot. Some officials advised him to buy some property for future generations, but he said, "Let future generations say that they are descendants of honest officials, but this is the richest property left to them!"

Yang Zhen didn't like the greed and arrogance of officials. He wrote letters to protest many times. Corrupt officials regarded him as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh, and then quickly removed him. In A.D. 124, Yang Zhen was framed by Fan Feng, assistant minister of a corrupt official, dismissed from his post and forced to commit suicide.

Both Yu Qian and Yang Zhen were good officials of that era, but it is a pity that life did not have a good ending. It's really hard to be an honest official!