Today (while watching angr grind away at a control flow graph) I have translated an excerpt from 列女传 “Biographies of Exemplary Women”, a 2000-year-old collection of 125 stories. It’s a tragic tale about doing the right thing in hopeless circumstances.
In the Kingdom of Wei lived a virtuous maiden, who served as nursemaid to one of the princes. The Qin attacked Wei, destroying it utterly, killing the king and slaughtering all his heirs — except for one. The people of Wei were told: “The one who brings us the prince shall receive a thousand bars of gold. Hide him from us, and the punishment is death.”
The nursemaid took the prince and fled. A minister of the fallen government recognized her and asked: “Is all well with you, maiden?”
The nursemaid lamented “Oh, what am I to do about the prince!”
The ex-minister asked “Where is the prince now? For I heard that the Qin commanded there is a great reward for surrendering him, and a great punishment for withholding him. You need only say the word, and you will be rich. Say nothing, and your family will die alongside you.”
The nursemaid sighed and said “I do not know where the prince is.”
The minister told her “I heard the prince fled with his nursemaid.”
The maiden answered “Even if I know, I cannot say anything.”
The minister said “The Kingdom of Wei lies in ruins. The royal bloodline is extinguished. Who are you even hiding him for?”
The nursemaid sighed and explained: “Those who would profit through turning against their leaders are traitors; forsaking righteousness due to fear of death would be morally destitute. Embracing betrayal and turpitude to seek rewards? Could NOT be me! And beyond even that, if you raise a child yourself, you must of course keep them alive, not murder them. How could material rewards and mortal fear constitute a reason to discard justice and betray virtue! Your very humble servant could not possibly live with herself if the prince were captured.”
She then took the prince and fled deep into the marshes. The ex-minister informed the army of Qin. The army found them and shot them down. The nursemaid shielded the prince with her body and was pierced by arrows ten times. They both died together.
The King of Qin heard of this and acknowledged that the nursemaid had died a noble death, loyal to the end. He administered dignified funeral rites with a grand sacrificial offering. Her brother was made a high-ranking official, and granted many bars of gold.
for Orion: 