Story

In the kingdom of Chǔ Guó (楚国, 770 - 223 BC), a man named 卞和 (Biàn Hé) saw a phoenix land on a piece of stone at the base of a mountain. He knew that the stone had to contain a rare jade inside, and so he took the stone and presented it to the king of Chǔ Guó. The king gave the stone to his craftsmen to assess its value, and the craftsman told him that it was worthless without even bothering to crack it open. Enraged at the "deception," the king had 卞和's left foot cut off.

After that king died and a new king rose to the throne, 卞和 tried to convince him too that the stone contained a valuable jade within. This king also asked his craftsmen to determine the veracity of 卞和's claims, and the craftsmen again told him that 卞和 was wrong. As angered as his predecessor, the king had 卞和's other foot cut off.

After that king died and yet another rose to the throne, 卞和 couldn't bring himself to try a third time. He brought the stone to the base of the mountain and wept fiercely for several days and several night. So great was his despair that when his tears dried out, he wept blood instead.

When the new king found out about this, he sent people to go ask 卞和 what he was crying about. The weeping man responded that he was devastated that he had been branded a liar when he had tried to give his kings the valuable jade. When this was reported to the king, and the king finally ordered the craftsmen to crack open the stone. Sure enough, a magnificent piece of rare jade sat inside. The stone was carefully polished and was named "和氏之璧" in 卞和's honor.

The stone remained in the kingdom of Chǔ Guó for over 400 years, but then was lost. Some fifty years later, the jade was found in a market in the kingdom of Zhào Guó (赵国, 475 - 220 BC) and claimed by the king.

It wasn't long before the kingdom of Qín Guó (秦国, 475 - 220 BC) found out about the jade. The Qín king wrote a letter to the Zhào, saying that they would be willing to exchange 50 cities in return for the precious jade.

The request made the Zhào king extremely nervous. He suspected that the Qín king wouldn't actually give him the 50 cities once the jade had been handed over, but because the Zhào was much weaker than the Qín, he didn't want to refuse the offer and give the Qín an excuse to attack. He stressed for days, genuinely not sure what to do about the situation.

Word spread, and eventually the Zhào official 蔺相如 (Lìn Xiāng Rú) went to the king and told him that he would be willing to travel to Qín and either secure the 50 cities for the Zhào or return with the jade in tow. The king agreed, and 蔺相如 and some soldiers set off for Qín Guó.

When 蔺相如 arrived at the Qín palace and met with the king, it quickly became clear that the king indeed had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain. The minister criticized the king for his dishonesty and threatened to smash the jade against a pillar if the king went back on his word. The king was furious at the manipulation, but he was worried that the minister would actually do as he threatened. He quickly vowed that he would hand over the territories that he had promised and would start making the necessary preparations immediately.

蔺相如 suspected that the king was still lying through his teeth, and he told him that he would only believe that he was being earnest if he fasted for five days. After the five day fast, the king was to throw a banquet, and at that point 蔺相如 would give him the precious jade. The Qín king was frustrated by this request, but he thought complying was a better alternative than using force in this case, and so he assured the minister that he would do requested. 蔺相如 was escorted to guest quarters to wait.

In the guest quarters, 蔺相如 began to act. He still suspected that the king would not hand over the cities, and so he knew that he had to somehow smuggle the stone back to his home without the Qín figuring out. He selected the best of the soldiers who had come with him and made him change into plain, coarse peasant clothing, then put the stone into his pocket. From there, the warrior snuck out in the dead of night and stealthily made his way back to the kingdom of Zhào. 蔺相如, however, remained in the guest house and waited for the banquet.

Five days passed, and the monarch — who had only pretended to fast — threw the banquet and sent for 蔺相如 to deliver the jade. When the Zhào official arrived, he simply told the king that he had been unable to cheat the kingdom of Zhào and that the jade was already well along its path back home. The king was furious, but he knew that his own behavior had been dishonorable and feared that if he tried to retaliate he would become a laughingstock. He allowed 蔺相如 return to his home and did not make any more attempts to get the jade.