Ge Xi Duan Jiao

At the end of Eastern Han Dynasty， Guan Ning and Hua Xin were close friends when they were young. They stayed companion to each other all day， sharing the same table for dinner， the same mat for reading and the same bed for sleep. They got along with each other very well.

One day， they were working in the farmland weeding together. The two people worked hard without any rest and soon worked a large tract of land.

Suddenly Guan Nings mattock hit something hard with a clear “clang”. Feeling strange， Guan Ning dug out the thing that had stopped his mattock and found that it was a gold bar. He said to himself： “I am wondering what is that hard. It is just a gold bar.” Then he ignored it and went on with his work.

Hua Xin heard what he said and immediately came to pick the gold bar up and appreciated it carefully. Seeing this， Guan Ning said still carrying on his work： “The fortune should be earned through hard work. A man with morals should not covet undeserved fortune.”

Hua Xin said： “I understand the philosophy of what you said.” But he still held the gold bar and was unwilling to drop it. Later， he could not stand being stared at intensively by Guan Ning and reluctantly put aside the gold before going back to work. However， he still had the gold bar in his heart and did not work as hard as before while he kept sighing over times. Seeing this， Guan Ning said nothing. He just shook his head and continued his weeding.

Another day， they sat on the same mat and read books， when lively and boisterous music and drumbeats came into the room from the outside. The music was accompanies by mens yelling for clearing the road and peoples joyful cry. Distracted by this， Hua Xin immediately stood up and went to the window to see what was going on outside. In comparison， Guan Ning continued to sit where he was and went on reading.

The noise outside came from a senior officials sedan and his entourage， who carried weapons and wore the uniforms while patrolling ahead and behind the sedan. This made the entire scene look very vehement and powerful. The sedan itself was luxuriously decorated with exquisitely carved patterns and silk-made curtains. A large piece of jade was embedded onto the sedan top， further highlighting its luxury and elegancy.

Hua Xin was completely drawn into the grand and luxurious scene. With his eyesight blocked by the window， he just completely stopped his reading and went out to the street， following the fleet to have a clear sight.

After seeing Hua Xins deeds， Guan Ning could not hide his disappointment and sorrow any more. When Hua Xin came back， Guan Ning took out a knife and cut asunder the mat they sat in front of Hua Xin. He said to him determinedly： “You and I are so different from each other in inspiration and taste. From now on， we are no longer each others friend， just like the mat that has been cut apart.”endprint