Wong Tai Sin Sign 34大舜耕田Emperor Shun Plowing the Fields
The figure of Shun working the fields of Mount Li, plowing alongside elephants who came of their own accord, is the image this stick hands you.
Though abandoned to the fields of the Mountain, He never fails in his love for his unjust parents.
Even wild elephants turned to him and became tame, For his heart's so kind that nobody could blame.
Emperor Shun Plowing the Fields
This stick tells the story of Shun, one of China's legendary sage emperors from around 2300 BCE. His stepmother and father treated him terribly — they literally tried to kill him multiple times, burning down his granary and attempting to bury him alive in a well. Yet Shun never retaliated or spoke ill of them. Instead, he worked quietly in the fields of Mount Li, practicing radical kindness even toward those who wronged him. The legend says that wild elephants would come help him plow, and birds would weed his crops, because his heart was so pure that even animals trusted him. His reputation for goodness eventually reached the previous emperor, who abdicated in Shun's favor. The story became the ultimate example of how consistent moral behavior, especially in the face of unfairness, eventually transforms everything around you.
Seven Short Readings
- CareerThe figure behind this stick is Shun, cast out to farm the rocky slopes of Mount Li by the family that wanted him dead.READ
- WealthEarned income is solid, but unchecked generosity may be quietly draining it.READ
- LoveYour relationship situation calls for the kind of patience Shun showed — genuine, persistent kindness without keeping score.READ
- HealthYour health journey mirrors Shun's patient cultivation of barren fields.READ
- StudyYour learning journey mirrors Shun's patient cultivation.READ
- FamilyShun on Mount Li is the figure the stick puts in front of you: the son sent away to plow, treated as the problem, who keeps tending the field anyway.READ
- The whole situationThe figure of Shun working the fields of Mount Li, plowing alongside elephants who came of their own accord, is the image this stick hands you.READ
More Signs
Other Moderately Good signs
Browse all 100 signs