Xu Yake(徐崖客), a man from Huzhou(湖州), was the son of a concubine. His father, misled by Yake’s stepmother, sought to put him to death. He fled and wandered the world. Every famous mountain, great river, deep cave, he endeavored to ascend, believing himself already doomed and therefore fearing nothing.
Once, while climbing Mount Yandang, Xu Yake couldn’t make it to the top. With nowhere to stay for the night, a monk nearby asked, “Do you enjoy traveling?”
In Ding Shuiqiao(丁水橋), a town in Tangxi(塘西鎮), Zhejiang(浙江), there was a boatman named Ma Nanzhen(馬南箴). One night, he was paddling a small boat on the river. On the shore, there was an old lady with her daughter, signaling the boat, requesting passage. Several passengers on the boat advised Ma Nanzhen to ignore her and refuse to ferry the old lady. However, Ma Nanzhen said, ‘It’s late at night, and they are women without a place to stay.
Lv Xiangyun(呂鄉筠), a merchant from Dongting(洞庭), often traded Dongting fish and shrimp for miscellaneous goods in Jiangxi. He took one-tenth of the profit and, with surplus earnings, supported poor relatives and friends, helping the needy thereafter. He never saved money for himself. Lv Xiangyun was skilled at playing the flute. Whenever he encountered beautiful landscapes, he would sail and enjoy the scenery, playing his flute.
Once, on a mid-spring night, Lv Xiangyun’s boat was moored near Junshan Island.
During the Liu Song period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Zhao Wenshao(趙文韶), a native of Kuaiji (modern-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), served as an attendant in the Crown Prince’s palace in the capital city (present-day Nanjing). He lived near the foot of Purple Mountain by the Qingxi River, at Zhongqiao. His residence was separated from the house of the Minister Wang Shuqing by only a narrow lane, approximately two hundred steps away.
