The Ts'ai-ken t'an, or Vegetable Root Talks, by Hung Tzu-ch'eng of the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644), which is still a popular self-improvement book for young people, uses vegetables to illustrate moral lessons.
如明代洪自誠「菜根譚」，藉蔬菜比喻人格，這部書至今仍然受青年學子愛讀，引為最佳的勵志文集。