Kong Guang managed the central affairs of the Han court for more than ten years. The Book of Han says that on rest days at home, he talked with his brothers, wife and children, “but never touched on the affairs of the court.” Once someone asked him: “What trees grow in the Wenshi Hall?” Kong Guang was silent and answered with other talk. “Such was his refusal to leak,” the history says.
Whenever he gave advice, he destroyed the draft. When he recommended someone for office, he feared only that the person might find out. The Handian dictionary defines 温树, the trees of the Wenshi Hall, as being careful in office and not leaking the court’s secrets.