'A prime minister's heart is big enough to sail a boat in'
In the Chinese language, describing or praising a person’s big-heart or magnanimity often turns to the popular proverb zaixiang duli nengchengchuan, which can be translated roughly as “a prime minister’s heart is big enough to sail a boat in.”
宰相肚里能撑船
zǎi xiàng dù lǐ néng chēng chuán
The prime minister in question refers to none other than Wang Anshi (1021-1086), a famous Chinese economist, philosopher, poet and politician who served as prime minister for Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127).
According to a folk tale, Wang’s wife passed away when he was in middle age, and eventually he decided to take an 18-year-old concubine, who was not only beautiful but also very cultured.
However, Wang was very preoccupied with his office work and didn’t find much time to consort with his concubine. He later discovered she was having an affair with a male servant in his household.
At first, Wang was very angry and wanted to harshly punish the two adulterers. Then he calmed down and decided it was not worthy for a prime minister to make a spectacle of himself over such a matter.
But he still wanted to let the concubine know he was fully aware of her clandestine love life. So, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wang invited his concubine to join him in the courtyard to observe the full moon.
During their conversation, Wang uttered an impromptu poem, describing the scene of the night when he first uncovered her infidelity. The young woman immediately understood the meaning of the poem. So, she knelt in front of Wang and read out a poem of her own in reply.
In her poem, the concubine said a gentleman does not find fault with a petty person and a prime minister’s heart is big enough to sail a boat in.
Later, Wang gave his concubine some taels of silver and directed her to leave his house with her paramour.
The line in the concubine’s poem about the big heart of a prime minister now remains a popular Chinese idiom, often quoted to praise a person for tolerance and munificence.
