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Love of People 205 When the Magistrate’s Aides, Yamen Clerks, and Military Officers of the District Either Die or Have a Death in Their Family, the Magistrate Should Show Them His Gracious Affection by Expressing Sympathy and Offering Condolence Money. In the olden days, when an official in the royal court died, the king visited the mourner and expressed his sympathy, personally watching the process of preparing the corpse for burial from start to finish, including washing and wrapping the corpse and placing it in the casket. He also provided shrouds and gifts for the funeral . If one thinks over this precedent established by the king, it is necessary for the magistrate to treat his subordinates in the same way under the same circumstances. If a person who once served in the government, was on the list of recommendation for his talent and filial piety, was a student of the National Confucian Academy [Sŏnggyun’gwan], or was talented in arts and literature has died, or if such a person has a death in his family, the magistrate must express his sympathy and provide support with propriety. CHAPTER : GENEROUS TREATMENT OF THE SICK Disabled Persons and Seriously Ill Patients Are Supposed to Be Exempt from Compulsory Labor, and This Is Called Kwanjil [Generous Treatment of the Sick]. Magistrates nowadays are harsh and far from being benevolent. A farmer’s wife in the countryside visits the yamen to make a plea, holding a baby in her arms. She says, “This child of mine was seriously burned and disabled in a fire accident and therefore is unable to use its hands and feet. So I would like to beg for your mercy, asking Your Honor to exempt my son from his military service.” Then the magistrate rejects the request, replying, “It is still better than a scarecrow in the field, is it not?” How sad! How can a man who is a magistrate treat the people like that? Disabled people like the blind, the deaf, lame persons, and ones with underdeveloped sexual organs should not be registered for military service nor summoned for miscellaneous labor requirements. Hunchbacks or Invalids for Life Who Are Incapable of Living on Their Own Should Be Provided with Shelter and Looked After. People who are blind, crippled, physically disabled, or suffering from leprosy are despised and detested. Rootless people without parents and relatives wander from place to place. The government should protect them, providing shelter and persuading their clans to accept them. As to those who have no one to depend on, having not a single relative, the magistrate should select a man of virtue in the village and have him take care of them by reducing the load of his various compulsory labors. 206 book IV When Yu Chonggui was prefect of Jiangzhou, there was a severe snowstorm. Braving the stormy weather, he went to a pavilion on the riverside and looked after the refugees, distributing money and rice. He also provided the beggars with blankets made from mulberry paper, and he treated and accommodated the sick by repairing a local sanatorium. Soldiers Exhausted by Cold and Hunger Should Be Provided Clothes and Food So That They May Not Lose Their Lives. The following happened when Liu Hong of the Jin dynasty governed Jingzhou . He was awakened in the middle of the night by a painful sound, which came from a man standing guard on top of the wall. When he called him in and looked at him closely, the soldier was a sick, old man without even a jacket. Liu Hong gave him a coat made of leather and a cap with thick padding. The following happened when Zhang Lun was vice supply commissioner of Jianghuai. Discovering many laborers lying dead on the streets because of cold and hunger, he lamented, “This is nothing but my own fault, resulting from my failure to imitate the benevolence of the emperor.” Then, with his own money, he purchased a thousand padded jackets from the market and clothed the people who were suffering most. When There Is an Epidemic, People Are Naturally Scared and Try to Keep Away from the Victims. However, the Magistrate Should Make Them Not Be Afraid by Comforting and Looking After the Patients. When Xin Gongyi of the Sui dynasty became prefect of Minzhou, the residents were so scared of the epidemic that they quickly abandoned patients even though they were members of their family. As a result, most of the victims who...

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