Story summary of "Cut the Seat and Sever Friendship": Guan Ning and Hua Xin were good friends, but after they saw gold while weeding, Guan Ning chose to ignore it, but Hua Xin picked it up; At that time, he saw people in formal attire passing by. Guan Ning concentrated on reading, but Hua Xin went out to watch. Guan Ning felt that they were not on the same page, so he cut ties with Hua Xin.

Original text:

Guan Ning and Hua Xin were both from the late Han Dynasty. At the beginning, the two of them were hoeing vegetables in the garden. They saw a piece of gold on the ground. They swung the hoe but turned a blind eye, just like tiles and rocks. I was happy to catch the flower, and when I saw Guan's expression, I threw it away. We were also reading at the same table, and someone passed by with a crown on his head. He would rather read as before and read the Chinese waste books. He would rather cut up the table and sit separately, saying, "You are not my friend."

Translation:

Guan Ning and Hua Xin were weeding in the garden together. Seeing a piece of gold on the ground, Guan Ning was still wielding the hoe just like seeing a piece of tile or stone. Hua Xin happily picked up the gold piece and threw it away. Once, they were sitting on the same mat reading. A man in a covered car and wearing a formal dress happened to pass by the door. Guan Ning was still reading as before, but Hua Xin put down his book and went out to watch. Guan Ning cut off the mat and sat separately from Hua Xin, saying, "You are no longer my friend."

Appreciation:

This story has been passed down to this day, and people have been promoting Guan Ning as a model who does not admire glory and is not greedy for money. But Guan Ning cannot look at his friends in two, and only adopts the attitude of breaking off friendship, which is too one-sided. Guan Ning broke off the friendship because one or two details of his friend did not meet his standards as a person, which was a bit harsh on others. However, Hua Xin was greedy for vanity, so Guan Ning could not be blamed for cutting off ties. You should choose like-minded friends, choose friends who are focused on learning and well-educated, and make friends carefully.