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伍子胥 ① 报父兄之仇，而郢都灭；申包胥 ② 救君上之难，而楚国存。可知人心足恃也。
秦始皇 ③ 灭东周之岁 ④ ，而刘邦 ⑤ 生；梁武帝 ⑥ 灭南齐之年，而侯景 ⑦ 降。可知天道好还也。
① 伍子胥（公元前 559 年—公元前 484 年），春秋末期吴国大夫、军事家。伍子胥之父伍奢为楚平王子建太傅，因受费无极谗害，和其长子伍尚一同被楚平王杀害，伍子胥从楚国逃到吴国。公元前 506 年，伍子胥协同孙武带兵攻入楚都，伍子胥掘楚平王墓，鞭尸三百，以报父兄之仇。
② 申包胥（?—?），春秋时期楚国大夫。公元前 506 年，伍子胥率吴军攻打楚国时前往秦国请兵，吴国因受秦楚夹击而退兵。复国后，楚昭王要封赏申包胥，他坚持不受，带一家老小退居山林。
③ 秦始皇（公元前 259 年—公元前 210 年），姓嬴名政，十三岁继承王位，三十九岁称帝，在位三十七年。中国历史上著名的政治家、战略家、改革家，首位完成华夏大一统的铁腕政治人物。
④ 灭东周之岁：据史料记载，东周纪年始于公元前 770年，到了秦庄襄王元年（即公元前 249 年），东周君欲趁秦连丧昭襄、孝文二王合纵伐秦，秦庄襄王以吕不韦为大将，起兵十万，执东周君而归，尽收巩城等七邑。周朝至此彻底灭亡。据此，“灭东周之岁”应该是公元前 249 年（也即刘邦出生后的第 7 年）；灭东周的不是秦始皇（公元前 246 年才继位），而是当时刚登基的秦庄襄王。—作者引用有误，特予更正。
⑤ 刘邦（公元前 256 年—公元前 195 年），汉朝开国皇帝，汉民族和汉文化伟大的开拓者之一、中国历史上杰出的政治家、卓越的战略家。
⑥ 梁武帝（464 年—549 年），名萧衍，汉相萧何第二十五代世孙，南北朝时期梁朝政权的建立者，在位时间达四十八年之久。
⑦ 侯景（503 年—552 年），原为东魏大将，于梁武帝太清元年（547 年）率部投降梁朝，驻守寿阳，但不久起兵反叛，于三年（549 年）攻破建康，致使梁武帝被困饿死城中。
伍子胥决心为父兄报仇，最后攻破了楚国都城郢；申包胥决心拯救楚君于危难之中，结果保全了楚国。由此可以看出，人只要有决心，事情都是能够办到的。
秦始皇灭掉东周的那一年，正是后来推翻秦王朝的刘邦刚刚诞生的时候；梁武帝灭南齐的那一年，正是后来起兵破梁都城的侯景率部投梁的时候。此所谓天道好还。
Wu Zixu* vowed to avenge his father and elder brother, and therefore ruined Ying, the capital of Chu. On the other hand, Shen Baoxu* was determined to save the king and then succeeded in protecting the state from being destroyed. From this we see that the will of a true man can always be counted on.
The year the First Emperor of Qin* dismantled the Eastern Zhou is the time Liu Bang* was just born, who overthrew the Qin Empire afterwards. The year Emperor Wu of Liang* eliminated Southern Qi is the time Hou Jing* gave in his submission to Liang, who sent the Liang Dynasty to tomb subsequently.From this we know that heavenly retribution, good or bad, is bound to come in turn.
* Wu Zixu (?-484BC), named Wu Yuan, general and prime minister of the state of Wu during the late Spring and Autumn Period, well versed in military and political strategies.
* Shen Baoxu(?-?), a senior official of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC). When Wu Zixu, for the purpose to revenge his father and elder brother who was killed by Emperor Ping of Chu, led the troops of Wu in person to attack Chu in 506BC, Shen, once the good friend of Wu Zixu’s, went to Qin and requested military assistance. Attacked by the troops of Wu and Qin from both sides, Wu Zixu had to issue the order to withdraw. When the state was secured, Emperor Zhao of Chu intended to award Shen, but he declined and retreated forever.
* The First Emperor of Qin (259BC-210BC), named Ying Zheng or Zhao Zheng, founder of the Qin Empire, who accomplished the unification of China in 221BC (the 26th year of his reign), hence esteemed as the greatest politician, strategist and military commander in the Chinese feudal history.
(Special note: According to historical records, the Eastern Zhou was dismantled by King Zhuangxiang of Qin in 249BC instead of the First Emperor, who was then only ten years old.)
* Liu Bang (256BC-195BC), Emperor Gao, founder of the Han Dynasty(r. 202BC-195BC), usually called the Lord of Pei before assuming the throne.* Emperor Wu of Liang (464-549), named Xiao Yan and styled Shuda, founder(r. 502BC-549) of the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties.
* Hou Jing (503-552), a general of the Eastern Wei during the Southern Dynasties, who surrendered to Emperor Wu of Liang in 547 but rebelled against the emperor very soon and forced him to die of hunger in 549.