He Tasted His Father's Faeces and Worried about His Father

Yu Qianlou was appointed as the magistrate of Chanling County. One day, after he held office for less than ten days, he suddenly had a feeling that something had happened at home, so he resigned and went home. When he reached home, he learnt that his father was seriously ill for two days. The physician told him that the way to check his father's condition was to taste his faeces. If they tasted bitter, it meant that his father was fine. Yu then tasted his father's faeces and found that they tasted sweet, so he became very worried. At night, he prayed to the gods and expressed his willingness to die in his father's place. However, his father still died a few days later. Yu buried his father and mourned for three years.