Kong Rong (153 - 208) was a bureaucrat, poet, and minor warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He was also the 20th generation descendant of Confucius. As he was once the governor of Beihai Commandery (present day Weifang, Shandong). During his tenure of office, Kong Rong constructed cities, built schools, and advocated Confucianism.
Kong Rong showed his quick wits at an early age. In the Biography of the Rong Family, it is recorded that there were seven brothers in his family, and Kong Rong was the sixth son. One day, he was asked to choose a pear in priority. He, however, picked up the smallest pear, giving up the larger pears to his elder and younger brothers. He was praised by the clan for his humility and amiability.
Since then, Kong Rong's "pear choosing" story has been handed down as a well-known story commonly used to educate children even nowadays on the values of proper etiquette and etiquette. The story is also mentioned in the Three Character Classic, a text used for elementary education since the Song Dynasty.
The book comes with Chinese characters and the Pinyin (phonetic transcriptions), making it an excellent means of learning elementary Chinese. The book ends with a Q & A, which helps parents engage their children in a discussion about the story.
