| | Yong has five levels: carrying a long sword, rushing into thorny thickets, splitting up rhinoceroses and leopards, wrestling with bears and sika deer; this is the bravery of hunting on foot. Carrying a long sword, going into deep springs, beheading dragons and crocodiles, wrestling with soft-shelled turtles; this is the bravery of fishermen. Climbing high and ascending dangerous places, standing like a goose on tiptoe to look in all directions, with an unchanging expression; this is the bravery of potters. When striking, one must pierce; when looking, one must kill; this is the bravery associated with the five punishments. In the past, Duke Huan of Qi considered Lu as his southern border. The ruler of Lu was worried about this and did not eat for three days. Cao Mei requested to cut his own throat in order to splatter blood on Duke Huan. The duke became frightened and did not know what to do, so Guan Zhong advised him to make an alliance with the ruler of Lu. Cao Mei was a common man, an ordinary person in plain clothes and soft shoes. With one outburst of anger, he repelled the army of a ten-thousand-chariot state and preserved a thousand-chariot nation; this is the bravery of a junzi (gentleman).
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