he became known as the "Wen" or "Civilized Duke" of Jin.) In 635BC, the new duke was generous to those who had helped him in adversity but overlooked Jie, who sadly withdrew into poor obscurity in the forests near . The duke sent repeated envoys to lure Jie back to court, but he felt no ambition for political power. Too loyal to directly criticize his master but too principled to accept a place in a corrupt administration, he opted to simply remain in seclusion. Annoyed, the duke ordered a forest fire to be started around three sides of the mountain to smoke Jie and his mother out of hiding. Instead of coming out, they were burnt alive. Jie's charred corpse was found still standing, embracing or tightly bound to a tree. In his remorse, the duke renamed the mountain Mt.Jie, established the town still known as Jiexiu ("Jie's Rest"), and inaugurated the Cold Food Festival as a memorial period for Jie. In addition to the festival, the story also occasioned the Chinese proverb that, "while some can burn off an entire mountain, others are kept from even lighting up to eat their rice". History The first part of this legend appears to be historical. In the earliest accounts, however, Jie is more prideful than sad and is not killed in a fire. The 4th-century-BC commentary on Confucius's Spring and Autumn Annals traditionally credited to Zuo Qiuming includes a Thucydidean passage where Jie argues with his mother about their future. Jie credits Heaven with having restored Chong'er to his rightful place and is disgusted by the credit-seeking and job-hunting behavior of his fellows, whom he considers worse than thieves. He also finds his lord unworthy for failing to reward him despite his failure to present himself at court. His mother asks him to at least go before the duke, but Jie admits his bitter criticism of the other lords makes that impossibly embarrassing. His mother accepts his decision to withdraw to a hermitage and goes with him. Ji Chong'er belatedly remembers his obligations to Jie and looks for him. When this proves vain, he accepts the situation and sets aside the produce of the fields of "Mëenshang" to endow sacrifices in Jie's honor, "a memento... of my neglect and a mark of distinction for the good man". Other sources from the Zhou and early Han mention and praise Jie for various