Zhang Gongyi of Shouzhang in Yunzhou lived with nine generations of his family under one roof. During the Linde era, the Tang emperor Gaozong passed through on his way to Mount Tai and visited the house. He asked how the family held together.
Zhang asked for paper and brush. He wrote the character 忍, endure, more than a hundred times. The emperor wept and gave him silk. The story is in the Old Book of Tang.