A Thousand Pieces of Gold

Authors: Adeline Yen Mah

A Thousand Pieces of Gold

Growing Up Through China’s Proverbs

Adeline Yen Mah

To my husband, Bob, who knows me better than I know myself
(zhi ji)
and makes everything worthwhile

My Grandfather Ye Ye told me that when he was a boy growing up in Shanghai, he saw many large red boxes placed at major street corners. Each had four gilded characters written on its surface:
jing xi zi zhi,
“respect and cherish written words.” Workmen with bamboo poles patrolled the streets picking up any stray pieces of paper with writing. The contents of these boxes were burned at regular intervals at a special shrine in the Temple of Confucius. These paper-burning ceremonies were solemn occasions resembling high mass at a Catholic cathedral, with music and incense. Candidates who had successfully passed the imperial examination were the only ones allowed to participate. They would prostrate themselves in worship and pray to Heaven until all the paper had been reduced to ashes. On their way out, they would further show their respect by placing a donation into a separate red box labeled

Yi Zi Qian Jing

One Written Word Is Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold

Ye Ye said, “Let these proverbs I’ve taught you and the stories behind these proverbs be your most precious treasure. Cherish them and carry them with you wherever you go. Always keep in mind that life is short, riches come and go, but written words are immortal.”

Contents

The Loss of One Hair from Nine Oxen