Kong Rong was a great writer who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). At the age of four, he was so considerate that he would leave the big pears in a bowl to his brothers and take the small one himself. In addition, he was a very quick-witted child.
The little boy once went to the capital Luoyang with his father. The then governor of Luoyang was Li Yuanli. As he was a versatile and noble personage in society, and many people went to visit him every day.
Kong Rong very much wanted to meet Li Yuanli, also. Upon arrival at Luoyang, he asked his father to take him along on his visit to the governor. But the father refused, thinking his son was too young and immature.
Therefore, Kong Rong went to Li Yuanli’s mansion on his own. He told the gatekeeper, “Governor Li’s family and my family have been friends over many generations. I have come to visit him today. Please pass my message on to him.” Hearing that the visitor was an old family friend of his master, the doorman hurried in to report the message. Li Yuanli urged the gatekeeper to invite the guest into the meeting hall, only to find it was a little boy. He asked, “Can you tell me your name, my boy? You’ve said our families have been close friends for many generations, but I don’t know you.” Kong Rong stepped forward and made formal greeting to Li Yuanli. Then he answered unhurriedly, “My name is Kong Rong. I’ve just come to Luoyang, so obviously you don’t know me. Speaking of our families’ friendship, it is a fairly long story. My ancestor is Confucius, and your ancestor is Laozi. At that time, Confucius was a student of Laozi, which means they had a relationship of student and teacher. This shows we are old family friends.”
No sooner had Kong Rong finished his words, than all the other guests in the hall acclaimed his clever reply and praised him as a wonder child. Governor Li was very impressed by the child’s wit, saying, “Good point! You are really an amazing child.” Kong Rong was thus invited to take a seat of honor.
Right at this moment, Chen Taiqiu, a senior Taizhong official, came in. Seeing a child seated in the seat of honor, he wondered, “Which family does this kid come from?” Others told him what had happened and how clever Kong Rong was. Yet Chen Taiqiu was not convinced. He wanted to see for himself if the boy was really as bright as everyone said. Then he walked over to Kong Rong and questioned him, “I’ve heard you are very clever. Is that true?” “That’s just a compliment, Sir, ”replied Kong Rong in a polite way. Hearing these words, Chen Taiqiu was not very impressed, and observed, “I’ ve heard being bright and clever when one is young does not necessarily mean he will be outstanding when he grows up.” Others present looked worriedly for Kong Rong’s reaction to this slight. Instead of getting in any way offended, the boy took up his cup and had a drink of tea. Then he responded in a casual tone, “I’ve heard that saying, too. I guess you must have been very bright in your childhood.” Chen Taiqiu was aware Kong Rong was implying that he was a failure now. However, he had nothing to say in reply and could only blush in great embarrassment.
