Liao-Fan: I often went to take the exams accompanied by others, and every time I would meet scholars who were very poor. I noticed that before they succeeded in passing the exams and became prosperous, their faces showed such humility, peace, and harmony that I felt I could almost hold that quality in my hands.
Liao-Fan: Several years ago, I took my imperial exam in Beijing. Among the ten applicants from my village, Ching-Yu Ding was the youngest and extremely humble. I told one of the applicants, Jin-Po Fay; that this young man would definitely pass the exam this year. Jin-Po Fay asked,
Jin-Pol: How can you tell?
Liao-Fan: I said, 'Only those who are humble are qualified to receive fortune. My friend, look at the ten of us-, is there anyone as honest, generous, and never tries to come in first, as Ching-Yu? Do you see anyone who is always respectful, tolerant, careful and humble like Ching-Yu? Do you see anyone like Ching-Yu, who, when he is insulted, does not talk back, or who, when he is slandered, does not argue? Any person who can achieve such a level of humility will receive protection from the heaven, earth, and spirits. There is no reason he will not become prosperous.' Sure enough, when the test results came out, Ching-Yu Ding passed.
Liao-Fan: One year in Beijing, I was staying with my childhood friend, Kai-Zhi Fung. I noticed that he always carried himself in a humble way, and had a kind and accommodating appearance. He was not a bit arrogant, which was an immense change from his childhood ways. Kai-Zhi had a friend named Ji-Yen Li who was straightforward and honest. Ji-Yen often scolded him on his mistakes, but Kai-Zhi always accepted the accusations calmly without talking back. I told him, 'Just as there are signs which wam of coming misfortune, we can see that prosperity comes to those who have cultivated the cause for it. Heaven will help those whose hearts are humble. You, my friend, will definitely pass the imperial examination this year!". Later on, he indeed passed the exam.
Liao-Fan: There was a young man from San-tong Province named Yu-Fong Zhou who passed the first level of imperial examinations before he was even twenty. Unfortunately, try as he might, he could not pass the succeeding exams. When his father was moved to another post in the government, Yu-Fong went with him, and came to greatly admire a well-known scholar in that village named Min-Wu Chian. Yu-Fong brought his own essays to see this man. He had no idea that Mr. Chian would pick up his calligraphy brush and blot out his entire essay. Not only was YuFong not angry, he sincerely accepted all of Mr. Chian's corrections and immediately changed his paper accordingly. A young man who could be that humble and showed such willingness to improve himself was very rare indeed. The following year, YuFong passed the imperial examination.
Liao-Fan: One year, I went to the Capital to pay my respects to the Emperor. I met a scholar named Jian-Suo Hsia who had all the qualities of a great man without a trace of arrogance. I felt the intense aura of his virtue and humility all about him. When I returned home, I told my friend, "When heaven wants a person to prosper, it will first bestow him with wisdom. Wisdom can make a person honest and well-disciplined. Heaven has already bestowed Jian-Suo with wisdom, or he couldn't be that gentle, kind and good. Surely, heaven will now make him prosperous." Sure enough, when the test results came out, Jian-Suo passed the exam.
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