The One-Coin Governor
Did you know? "The One-Coin Governor" is not the name of a storybook, but a saying that has been passed down for a very long time.
It tells of a real official from the Eastern Han Dynasty named Liu Chong. He served as the governor of Kuaiji, where he abolished bad rules and the people lived well.
When he was recalled to the capital, five or six elderly men came to see him off, each bringing a hundred copper coins. Liu Chong refused to accept them, and in the end took only one coin.
Afterward, everyone called him "The One-Coin Governor." It is said that he threw the coin into a river, and that river later came to be called "Qiantang."
This story was first written down in the Book of the Later Han, more than 1,500 years ago. It has been included in textbooks and operas, and there are many versions of it too!
Long ago, a new governor came to a place called Kuaiji. His name was Liu Chong.
Liu Chong wore plain clothes, and his face had a gentle smile. He said to everyone, "I will help the people here live good lives."
Everyone looked at him and thought: This governor seems different from the others!
After Liu Chong became the governor, he got rid of many troublesome rules. He told the officials, "Don't keep bothering the people. Let everyone farm and live in peace." The rice in the fields grew tall and strong, and the children played happily by the river.
In the past, officials often came to collect lots and lots of money and things, and the people were very afraid. Liu Chong got rid of all these bad rules, and only asked everyone to pay very, very little tax. An old grandpa stroked his beard and said: "This governor is really good. We can finally eat our fill."
Day by day, Kuaiji grew more and more lively. In the market there were fish sellers, vegetable sellers, and cloth sellers, and everyone greeted each other with smiles. Liu Chong often walked the streets in plain clothes to see how everyone was doing, and when the children saw him, they would wave happily.
One day, news came from the capital: the emperor wanted Liu Chong to return to the capital, and he could no longer be the governor of Kuaiji.
When this news spread, the people were all very sad. Everyone said, "Governor Liu is leaving. How can we thank him?"
In the place called Shanyin, there were a few white-bearded grandpas. They gathered together to talk things over.
One grandpa said, "Governor Liu has been so good to us. We must surely give him a gift."
Another grandpa nodded, "Let each of us bring one hundred copper coins, and give them to Governor Liu as a farewell token of our thanks."
On the day Liu Chong was to leave, before the sky grew light, five or six old grandpas set out. They walked a very, very long way until they reached the riverside. Quietly, they waited for Governor Liu's boat, each one holding tightly to a string of copper coins in his arms. Those copper coins were saved little by little by skipping treats and living plainly.
When Liu Chong saw the old men, he quickly stepped down from the boat. The old men held out the copper coins to him and said, "Governor, this is a little token of our thanks. Please, you must accept it!" Liu Chong shook his head and said, "Your lives are not easy. I cannot take this money." But the old men would not take the money back no matter what.
Liu Chong looked into the grandpas' honest eyes and felt deeply moved. He thought, "If I refuse them all, the grandpas will surely feel very sad. But if I accept them all, that would go against my conscience as an official."
In the end, he took just one copper coin from each grandpa's hand and said, "This way, I have accepted your kind wishes."
After Liu Chong left Kuaiji, he gently placed those copper coins into the river and let the water carry them away. He did not keep a single one for himself. Later, people called that river "Qiantang," and they even built a temple to remember this "One-Coin Governor," passing his story down from one generation to the next.
