(Clearwisdom.net) Emperors Yao and Shun were hailed as saints in ancient Chinese history. Shun was known for his great virtue and humble origins while Yao respected and appreciated virtue and always put his people first. By remembering the examples of these two great emperors we can see how far the current Chinese regime has deviated from the lessons of China's great traditional leaders.

Emperor Shun came from humble origins and his mother died when he was still very young. His father, stepmother and younger brother always mistreated him and even attempted to murder him. Esteeming the virtues of propriety, courtesy and humility, Shun still showed filial obedience to his father and stepmother and treated his younger brother very well despite the troubles they gave him. At the age of 17 Shun was driven out of his home by his unreasonable father. Homeless, Shun traveled to Lishan in the south of Jinan, Shandong Province where he learned about farming. Then he traveled west to Leize to learn fishing and finally to the Yellow River bank where he learned pottery-making.

Wherever he traveled Shun faced adversity. However, he was always able to touch people's hearts with his virtuous conduct. Through their interactions with Shun, local residents became better people and came to esteem the virtues of propriety and courtesy. Farmers in Lishan became willing to share their farmland, while fishermen generously yielded their houses. As young as he was, Shun was a person of great virtues and people felt delighted to be with him. As a result, Shun's reputation attracted people from different regions to where he lived. Gradually the newcomers happily settled down and formed a village in one year that grew into a town in two years and then into a city in three years. The young Shun was widely recognized as a spiritual model of morality.

Emperor Yao made his country and people his highest priority and he respected virtuous people. He wanted to make sure his country was well taken care after he was gone so he traveled around in eager search of someone with great virtue and wisdom so he could pass his crown to him. He paid visits to several highly respectable persons who were devoted to their spiritual cultivation but none of them were interested in succeeding emperor Yao.

Yao finally met with success when he discovered Shun. Having heard of Shun's reputation and virtuous deeds, Yao rewarded him. He married his daughter to Shun and later passed the crown to him. Of course, the reward was not what Shun pursued. As a successor to Yao, Shun successfully maintained social order and harmony and won admiration and respect from all governors.

Let us now look at how the CCP regime treats the virtuous. Falun Gong, a cultivation method based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, helps people upgrade their morality and improve their health and has no interest in political power. For example, a story about sharing water resources has been told in the mountainous areas in Hunan Province. Nanbian village and Shuizhuang village shared a river. During the drought season in the midsummer, the two villages usually fought against each other for limited water resources. Nanbian village located in the origin of the river was given an edge over the competition for water resources and had monopolized the water resources for over 20 years. In July 1995, Falun Gong was introduced to Nanbian village where 176 villagers learned the cultivation method. The villagers learned to treat others with kindness. Water competition and monopoly was turned into water sharing. The two villages had their hatred eliminated and lived in harmony with each other.

In the summer of 1998, China was badly hit by floods. Wuhan TV station in Hubei Province kept broadcasting news of nationwide donations from groups and individuals. Almost every day Falun Gong practitioners were reported to give donations. At a construction site against the floods were over ten workers who kept working hard around the clock regardless of their fatigue. When officials came to inspect the construction, the workers were asked from which unit they were. They replied they volunteered for the construction work. They further explained that they were Falun Gong practitioners. This was just one of the countless examples of Falun Gong practitioners' good deeds.

Though Falun Gong brings numerous benefits and no harm to people, narrow-minded former leader Jiang Zemin and his regime looked on Falun Gong's increasing popularity as "competition for the masses with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)." Jealous of the virtuous and the wise, Jiang unscrupulously launched a bloody persecution of Falun Gong.

Emperor Shun used his inborn virtues and benevolence to influence people's behaviors. His positive influence on his followers was simply out of his virtuous nature rather than out of any political purpose. Shun's virtuous deeds and fame were widely spread and then heard by the then emperor Yao. If judged from the viewpoint of the Communist Party, Shun's behaviors would be interpreted as attempts to "compete for the masses" against Yao.

Of course, Yao did not think so. Why didn't Yao think of Shun's behaviors as "competition for the masses?" Why didn't Yao feel threatened? It is not hard to understand the reason why. Seeing a virtuous person, Yao modeled himself after him. With his selflessness and bounteousness, Yao surely would never make another virtuous person his enemy.

Let's take a look at the current CCP philosophy. Notorious for its bribery, corruption, and extreme selfishness, the CCP is threatened by the virtuous and the wise and directs arbitrary attack against anyone who disagrees with it. If Shun were born in today's China, it is not hard to imagine, he would be suppressed over "competing for the masses with the CCP" and "getting political."

In the Chinese history, one would win respect for teaching others to be good. However, nowadays under the rule of the CCP, one's good deeds could be considered behaviors out of "political motives." Falun Gong teaches people to be good and has gained in popularity in over 110 countries. Thus the CCP directs slanderous attacks against it. Only the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. The international community finds it hard to understand why.

The saddest thing is that some Chinese people still blindly believe in the CCP's deceitful lies and are thus blinded to the truth about Falun Gong. In fact, if one gets rid of the thinking patterns installed by the Communist regime, they can make judgments from the angle of human nature and conscience. Then they can see that the CCP was driven crazy by its own extreme selfishness and jealousy and launched an attack on Falun Gong to justify their violence.

With benevolence and great virtue, Yao earned public support and admiration. People were overwhelmed for three years by an extraordinary outpouring of grief at the death of Yao as if they had lost one of their own parents. On the other hand, the CCP is notorious for its evil tyranny and criminal oppression and has thus lost public support. No wonder people have been withdrawings from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.