Fan Bonian was a man from Liangzhou during the Liu Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties
"Have you heard of the Greed Spring in Guangzhou?" "Yes, I have." "Do you know the story of Wu Yinzhi and the Greed Spring?"
"Wu Yinzhi was the governor of Guangzhou during the Jin Dynasty," Fan Bonian said. "On his way to take up the post, he reached a place called Shimen and saw a spring. The locals called it the Greed Spring, saying that anyone who drank from it would become insatiably greedy. Wu Yinzhi didn't believe it and took a few sips. After arriving in Guangzhou, far from becoming greedy, he remained remarkably incorruptible."
Emperor Song Mingdi then asked, "Does your hometown have such water?" Fan Bonian thought for a moment and replied, "In Liangzhou, we only have Wenchuan, Wuxiang, Lianquan, and Rangshui." "Wen, Wu, Lian, Rang? Excellent names!" the emperor nodded approvingly. "And where do you live?" Mingdi inquired. Fan Bonian answered, "I dwell between Lianquan and Rangshui."
Emperor Song Mingdi realized Fan Bonian was subtly hinting at his own integrity and humility, impressed by his clever response, and later appointed him Governor of Liangzhou.
Later, the idiom "Lian Quan Rang Shui" came to refer to places with pure and virtuous local customs.
Source: *History of the Southern Dynasties*, "Biography of Hu Xiezhi"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "廉泉让水" came to describe places with pure and virtuous local customs.