Heritage

My first history textbook was a fragile, 120-year-old genealogy book tracing our family’s story across forty-five generations. Our earliest recorded ancestor was Chen Shi (104 - 187 AD). Once, upon discovering a thief hiding on a roof beam, he calmly told his family, “Those who have gone astray can still redeem themselves—but only through deep self-reflection. I believe the gentleman above us will find the goodness in his heart and choose the right path.” Moved by his compassion, the thief climbed down and changed his life. Thus was born the Chinese idiom “the Gentleman on the Beam.” (梁上君子)