| In the Spring and Autumn Period, Bian Heh in the Chu
state got a rough jade on Mount Chu. He decided to present
the valuable jade to the emperor to show his official
loyalty to his sovereign, Chuli. Unluckily, the jade was
judged as a common stone by the court jadders, which made
Emperor Chuli very angry, and had Bian Heh's left foot
cut down cruelly.
After the enthronement of the new emperor Chuwu, Bian
Heh decided to submit the jade to Chuwu to clarify matters.
Emperor Chuwu also had it checked by the jadders in
the court. And the conclusion resulted in the same fact
that Bian Heh lost the other foot.
After the death of Emperor Chuwu, the prince Chuwen
was enthroned, that gave the poor Bian Heh a gleam of
light of proving his clear conscience. However, the
moment he thought of what he had incurred, he couldn't
help crying beside a hill. He could not stop crying
for several days and nights; he almost wept his heart
out and even blood was dropping from his eyes. And it
happened to be heard by the emperor in the court. He
ordered his men to find out why he was so sad. Bian
Heh sobbed out "Call a spade a spade. Why was a
real jade mistaken as a plain stone again and again?
Why was a loyal man thought faithless time and time?"
Emperor Chuwen was touched by Bian Heh's deep grief
and ordered the jadders to open the jade to have a close
look. To their astonishment, in the rough coat, the
pure content was sparkling and translucent. Then it
was carefully cut and polished fine and at last the
jade became a rare treasure of the state of Chu. In
memory of the faithful man Bian Heh, the emperor named
the jade by Bian Heh. And so the term "Bian's Jade"
came into being.
People usually describe something extremely precious
in its value with Bian's Jade.
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