 Zhu Xi considered how to tailor responses appropriate in problematic situations under the rubric of quan (weighing things up, discretion, expedient  means).[8]  He noted several kinds of situations in which recourse to discretion and expedient means might be advisable: 1) extraordinary situations that cannot be covered by the standard norms and ritual actions, 2) urgent situations that require a direct violation of the received norms and ritual actions to be satisfactorily resolved, and 3) situations in which it would be more humane and prudent not to observe the relevant norms and ritual actions (see Wei 1986). Situations of the first kind include those that call for a disruption of the given human order, for example the removal of an evil authority figure, such as a psychotic parent or a sociopathic tyrant. For situations of the second kind, Zhu had in mind emergencies when one would have to violate a norm in order to perform an emergency action, such as grasping the hand of a drowning sister-in-law, or shoving an old lady out of the path of a runaway  oxcart.[9]  Finally, the third kind of situation includes those in which it would be more compassionate to waive or overlook the ritual prescriptions, such as in cases of condoning the remarriage of a widow who would otherwise be destined to isolation and destitution.