1、Yi Shen Shi FaIn the Western Han Dynasty （202 ? 9 BC） ， there was an upright and honest official named Wang Zun. He lost his parents at a young age and he was brought up by his uncle. However， his uncle was so poor that young Wang Zun had to feed a horde of sheep for the rich people. He loved readin
2、g very much and always spent their time of shepherding on books. Gradually， he found his admiration for the government officials that are carrying out and adhering to the laws loyally， and hoped to be one of them in the future. One day， he asked his uncle to help him find a job as a jailor. His uncl
3、e was surprised at his 13-year-old nephews request. He asked： “You are just a child and know little about the law. Why do you want to work in the jail？” Wang Zun answered： “I have learned a lot from books and it will be better if I can learn some more from the chief warden.” His uncle finally contac
4、ted the chief warden， who recruited Wang Zun as an apprentice. In those years at the side of the warden， Wang Zun knew a lot about criminals and imprisonment. His knowledge about laws increased incrementally. One day， he went to the office of the magistrate of his hometown with the chief warden for
5、public affairs. There his talent was found by the magistrate， so he appointed Wang Zun as a secretary in his office. Several years later， Wang Zun resigned from his post and returned home to prepare for the imperial exams. After getting a high rank in the exam， he was recruited by the court again. D
6、ue to his diligence and uprightness， he started from a magistrate of a county， and gradually climbed through ranks to the governor of a state. At that that， the officialdom of the state he governed was very chaotic. Many governmental officials made use of their rights and power to suppress and explo
7、it the common people. After taking over the position， Wang Zun immediately started to bridle the governmental officials rights， putting an end to their malpractices and angering behaviors. He called for all his underlings to strictly follow the law and asked each superior official to set up good exa
8、mples for their subordinates. He warned them that the laws were merciless and they should not test the laws with their own bodies. However， one of his underlings， who were extremely greedy and cruel， turned a deaf ear to Wang Zuns orders and warnings. He plundered many assets from ordinary people， w
9、ho had furious complaints about him. They reported his malpractices to Wang Zun， who gave orders to arrest him and throw him into the prison. Being scared， the prisoner committed suicide soon after being imprisoned. After that， Wang Zun arrested several corrupt officials and sentenced them as they deserved. The annihilation of corruption restored the peace and prosperity in the state， and local officials hold close onto Wang Zuns principal that “do not test the laws with their own bodies”.
