Above is an interesting image from the Ming dynasty (ca. 15th century). It is part of a larger work depicting a fourth-century procession by the emperor. A virtuous official, Chen Yuanda, has positioned himself in the path of the emperor's entourage and has chained himself to a tree to make sure that his complaint about the emperor's brutality and extravagance is heard in full. Two other officials on their hands and knees beg the emperor to spare Chen's life and heed his warning. Two guards are trying to remove Chen from the tree and haul him away. This scene is based on a well-known, and possibly true story. But such examples of courageous remonstrance were rare indeed, for it was usually a suicidal act. The most famous case of heroic remonstrance in the Ming dynasty was that of an official named Hai Rui, who brought his own coffin with him when he went to the palace to admonish the emperor. Below is another image of remonstrance by a conscientious official. The willingness to offer such remonstrance was always an ideal of Chinese officialdom, but it was more likely to have been depicted in a painting or mentioned in a literary tale than to have been an actual mode of behavior for government officials.

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