Someone gave Zi Chan, a high official of the state of Zhen, a living fish as a gift. Zi Chan told the pond-keeper to put it in the pond.

But the pond-keeper cooked and ate it, and lied to Zi Chan that he had set free the fish and he even described the joyous look the fish had when it entered the water.

Zi Chan was very glad and said, "It went to the place where it belongs to! It went to the place where it belongs to!"

The pond-keeper went out and said to others, "Who says that Zi Chan is shrewd(精明的)? I cooked and ate the fish and he said it went to the place where it belongs to."

So a gentleman can be deceived by lies that look reasonable, not by things unreasonable.

有人送了一條活魚給鄭國的大夫子產，子產讓管池沼的校人養在池塘里。

校人卻把魚給煮著吃了，卻回來謊報說把那條魚放走了，并且形容了一下把魚放進水里的歡快樣子。

子產高興地說：“它去了應該去的地方啦!去了該去的地方啦!”

校人出對別人說：“誰說子產精明?我把魚煮著吃了，他卻說它去了該去的地方啦?！?/p>

所以說，對待正人君子，可以用合乎情理的方法欺騙他，用違反道理的話欺騙他肯定不行。