Keeping His Mind Undisturbed with a Woman in His Bosom

This idiom is from the book Xunzi.“No sexual relations happened between Liu Xiahui and a woman although they were covered by the same clothing for a whole night. It is not the first time for me to hear this kind of things that happened on him.” Since Han Dynasty, this story had been eulogized broadly and could be called a household one.

It is said that in a cold night, Liu Xiahui lodged in Guo's house. Later, a woman also came to this house for shelter. For fear that she would be frozen to death; Liu Xiahui let her sit in his bosom and untied his overclothes to wrap her up. They sat together for a whole night, but no sexual relations happened between them. As a result, Liu Xiahui was praised as a perfect gentleman who kept his mind undisturbed with a woman in his bosom. Furthermore, he was upright and never stooped to flattery, and consequently he offended the dignitaries and was demoted many times. Despite all these, he never left his country. That's what is called“Although he was demoted three times, he never left his country; although he became the highest-rank officials, he never changed his moral integrity.” Liu Xiahui got high appraisement from people like Confucius and Mencius.

We often use this idiom to describe a man who is decent in the sexual relations.

We may be faced with various temptations in the society. What we should do is to strengthen our beliefs and remove the evil thoughts. Only when a person could resist the temptations can he have a bright future.