BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese idiom "as clean as ice and as pure as jade", or "Bing Qing Yu Jie" in Chinese, symbolizes double-distilled, pure, and noble minds.

Huan Tan, a philosopher of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.), once commented that Boyi and Shuqi, who died for their moral pursuits, had their minds "as clean as ice and as pure as jade."

Motai Yun (widely known as Boyi) and Motai Zhi (Shuqi), the eldest son and the youngest son of the sovereign of the Guzhu Kingdom during the late Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.), were heirs to the kingdom.

It was a common practice to support the eldest son of the dead king as the new ruler in ancient China. However, Boyi insisted that his father's wishes be adhered to, and his youngest brother should ascend to the throne.

In the story, both brothers refused to come to the throne for moral reasons, rejected any grain grown on the territory of the later Zhou Dynasty because they opposed the emperor's idea of meeting violence with violence, and finally sacrificed their lives for their lifelong beliefs.

Confucianists revere them for abiding by etiquette, benevolence, justice, and daring to sacrifice for truth and compare their precious and chaste character with the purest ice and jade in nature.

In modern times, the phrase is more often used to hail one's pure inner self and lofty behavior. Many Chinese prefer to name their children after the idiom, hoping their offsprings can pursue such pure and noble characters.