The Li Si reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Li Si

Account taken from Shi Ji by Si Ma Qian under Account of Li Si.

Li Si (李斯) was the Prime Minister to the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di, from the state of Qin, between 246 BC and 209 BC.

He systemised Chinese writing in his work (only known through Chinese commentators over the centuries), called XiaoZhuan.

Li Si was originally from the kingdom of Chu. when he's young, he's a minor official in the county. One day he saw a mouse eating filty food inside the toilet, whenever someone or a dog nears, the mouse would be very frighten. He also saw a mouse of the granary eating the food stored there & the mouse is free of fright by human or dog as none goes there. Thinking about the difference between the 2, he came to understand that no matter how much talent a man have, it all depends on his environment & the best is to be like the mouse living in the granary.

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