Ji Zi of the Shang Dynasty was particularly fond of Taoism. He carried a lot of money with him and travelled around to fmd a teacher of Taoism. Whenever he saw a man wearing a yellow cap, he would take him as a Taoist priest and kneel down before him to ask for instructions.
One day, a sly swindler tried to get Ji Zi's bag of money. He said deceitfully: "I am a Taoist priest with the true doctrine1 of Taoism. If you'll follow me, I'll certainly teach Taoism to you."
Ji Zi believed this to be true, and followed this man wholeheartedly. The swindler wanted all along to take action, but had no chance, while Ji Zi time and again urged him to teach the Taoist doctrine.
One day the two of them came to a river bank. At the sight of a moored2 boat, the swindler got an idea and planned to take action. He said to Ji Zi: "Taoism is right here!"
Ji Zi asked anxiously: "Where?"
The swindler said: "It is at the top of the boat's mast. You will learn Taoism if you climb up to the top."
Ji Zi put his bag of money under the mast, hurriedly grasped the mast and began to climb. The swindler clapped his hands and shouted below: "Up! Go further up!"
When Ji Zi climbed up to the top and could go no further, he suddenly saw the light. Hugging the mast, he shouted happily: "I've learned Taoism! I've learned Taoism!"
The swindler took this opportunity to pick up the bag of money and run away.
When Ji Zi came down, he kept shouting happily. The by- standers said: "Hey, you fool, he is a swindler and has made off with your money."
Ji Zi replied: "He is my master! He is my master! This is also what he is teaching me!"
商季子特別愛好道學(xué)，帶了很多錢，游學(xué)四方，只要見到戴黃帽子的先生，就以為是道士，跪拜求教。
一天，一個狡猾的騙子，企圖騙取季子的錢袋，就騙他說：“我是一個得了真?zhèn)鞯牡朗?，只要你跟著我云游，我就一定把道學(xué)傳授給你。”
季子信以為真，誠心誠意地跟著他走。騙子一直想下手，但是沒有機(jī)會。季子卻不時地催促他傳道。
一天，倆人一同來到江邊。騙子一眼看到停泊的船，靈機(jī)一動，準(zhǔn)備下手，就騙季子說：“道就在這兒哩！”
季子忙問：“在哪兒?”
騙子說：“就在這條船的桅桿頂端，你爬上去就得道了。”
季子將錢袋放在桅桿下，急忙抓住桅桿往上爬。騙子在下面拍著巴掌，連聲喊道：“上！再上！”
季子爬到頂端，無法再上的時候，忽然大悟，抱著桅桿歡叫：“我得道了！我得道了！”
騙子趁機(jī)撿起錢袋跑掉了。
季子下來后，仍然歡叫個不停。旁觀的人說：“晦！傻瓜，他是個騙子，早把你的錢袋拿走了！”
季子回答說：“他是我?guī)煾?！他是我?guī)煾?！這也是他在教我哪！”
