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In the Qin Dynasty, there was a scholar addicted1 to antiques. He was so fond of collecting them that he would buy them nomatter how costly2 they were. One day, a man came to his door to peddle3 a worn-out straw mat. He said to the Qin scholar: "In those years, Ai Gong of the State of Lu gave a seat to Confucius to inquire about political affairs. This was the very straw mat on which Confucius had sat." Overjoyed to hear this, the Qin scholar believed it to be true. So he exchanged the land near his manor4 for this worn-out straw mat. A few days later, another man came to peddle a walking stick. He told the Qin scholar: "This walking stick was used by Gu Gong Dan Fu, ancestor of King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty, when he led his people to leave Bin5 in order to elude6 the invasion of the Di people. In terms of age, it was several hundred years earlier than the straw mat which Confucius had sat on. Sir, what will you reward me?" The Qin scholar was pleased as if he had found a treasure, and gave this man all the money in his house. A few days later, another man with a broken bowl boasted to the Qin scholar: "Sir, neither the straw mat nor the walking stick is a genuine antique, whereas this bowl was actually made in the time of King lie of the Xia Dynasty, which is more remote than the Zhou Dynasty." The Qin scholar believed this broken bowl was more ancient than the straw mat and the walking stick, so he gave up his house and courtyard for the broken bowl. | 
