Long long ago in ancient China, there was a young boy named Han Xin (韩信) who came from humble beginnings. He often went to people’s houses and begged them for food. Some people would take pity on him, and an official even invited him into his house from time to time out of sympathy. However, Han Xin started to be annoying for the villagers and had worn out his welcome at the official’s house. At that point, he realized that no one would feed him. So, he tried his luck at fishing. But alas, his fishing skills were proficient at best and he found himself starving again.
By the river Han Xin was fishing at, there were some old ladies washing clothes. One old lady noticed that he was as skinny as the fishing pole he was
Great article Jennifer. Rice is such a staple in the Chinese diet so it is so interesting to learn about the stories told about it. The woman is so kind for providing for the young boy. It is so great that Han Xin repaid the nice woman back for everything that she offered him. I have heard this idiom before so it is so interesting to hear about the background of it. Thanks for sharing!
Terrific Jen! This is such a cool story about humility and acknowledging those who have helped you in the past. The old lady’s graciousness was eventually repaid by HanXin, showing that small deeds can go a long way. HanXin’s remembrance of the old lady who helped him is also a testament to honoring those who have helped you at any point in time. Both are virtues that we should all look to incorporate into our own characters and great guiding principles. Well done.
Very interesting story Jennifer. I think that it is a very meaningful story because it teaches a lesson first of all in helping others, because you never know how they may be able to help you in the future. In addition, it also shows the importance of being grateful to those who have helped you in the past, just like Han Xin was when he looked for the old woman to repay her. It showed that he was truly grateful for the rice that she fed him because he was able to remember after all those years, even after becoming a king, because I am sure that he was also very busy with other things also. I hope reading this story can make me remember to be more grateful to others.
Great article. This story was very fascinating. I really enjoy Chinese stories because they always have some sort of life message. I really enjoyed this article as well. Thank you for sharing.
All Chinese idioms have a meaningful story behind it, and this story was great. At first when I was reading the story I thought that the lesson of the story was to always help others, because you’ll never know what they’ll do or become but I was surprised when it was actually about repaying those that have helped you in the past. I wonder if Han Xin also repaid others who also took pity on him and fed him, such as the villagers and the official. I think he should’ve since they have also lent him a hand when he needed it. But the old woman was the one who helped him the most and thus should’ve been rewarded with the best things. Thanks for sharing this story with us.
Great article Jen! I’ve heard this saying before but didn’t know about the story behind it. I really enjoyed the main message of the story to be grateful and repay those who have helped you. I also enjoyed the story itself of how nice old lady continued to give a boy rice everyday and later on he repaid her with one thousand gold ingots. I think another message of the story is to always be kind to everyone no matter what. Because even though she didn’t have to, the old lady was kind enough to feed the starving boy everyday when nobody else would. These are principles that I try to apply to my everyday life. Thanks for sharing!
Interesting article! This was the first time I’ve heard about this story or this idiom, 一饭千金. I liked that the story had a theme behind it and it did teach me to be thankful of those who had helped me in my life. It really stressed the importance of being grateful and repaying those who have helped you in the past. The other people in the story, however, wasn’t as kind as the old lady in the story. I’m glad that Han Xin became king and repaid the lady who fed him a bowl of rice every day. It’s really important to help those who helped you and treat people the way you want to be treated. Hopefully, more people can read this story and learn to be grateful and thankful in life.
Interesting article. It article really showcases two lessons to be learned one being you never know what will happen to your fate and the second being don’t do good things just for self benefit but for the benefit and happiness of other people. This was the first time I have heard about this story. I liked that the story had a moving theme and had made me thankful for all the good things in my life and to get past the bad. Many of the people didn’t want to chip in a little to feed Han Xin because they saw no self-benefits from doing so which is a lesson that can be learned from this story. The old lady however cared for the well being of this boy and was more than glad to help him. I’m happy that Han Xin out of self-debt repays the old lady for her caringness for the boy. overall, a fantastic article.
This is such an interesting story. I liked how Han Xin didn’t give up when he lost his welcome at the official’s house. he didn’t give up he tried fishing. Since he didn’t give up, a woman saw that he wasn’t doing well and gave him something to eat every day. Han Xin didn’t take advantage of her he ended up becoming King of Chu. He said he would repay her back her and he did. I have heard of the idiom that was used in the story before 一饭千金. Great article.
Great article Jen! This was the first time I ever heard of this idiom and I thought the story behind it was quite fascinating. I think the timeless moral of the story is undoubtedly important. We should help others without expecting anything in return and show gratitude towards those that helped you in the past. Han Xin’s determination to repay the woman shows how grateful and kind he is. Overall, I love this story and the moral it has behind it!
Great story Jennifer. I liked the story a lot! I enjoyed it so much because Xin was very determined. I also enjoyed it because of the very important lesson to always help others. I liked to see him end up being king.
This was a very interesting article! I never heard this story before and seemed very interesting. The moral of this story is a very good and meaningful one and should be done around the world. I kept on wanting to read more after each sentence and really thought that the story was a great lesson to be taught. Great job and I hope to see more content in the future!
Really cool story, Jen! I loved the message of being grateful and helping those who have helped you, as it really applies to our lives today. I really like how Han Xin searched far and wide for the women who had fed him once he had become king because it really showed how kind and gracious he was towards this women. I have never heard of the idiom 一饭千金 before, but I’m really glad I do now because I think the message should be stressed and taught everywhere. It is very important to be thankful and to pay back those who have helped you. Not everyone has 1000 gold ingots to give, but even a simple thank you card to show your gratitude is important. Great article, thanks for sharing!
This was a great article. I loved how the lesson of the story which is to appreciate the people who help you can apply to lives of people even today. Suprisingly i have never heard of this story before. Regardless everyone should take the moral of the story and apply it to their lives. I liked the ending because it shows that can be rewarding.
Great article. I’ve never heard of this story. The story was great. I enjoyed it because of the lesson. Thanks for sharing.
This was actually a really interesting article. I feel like the moral of the story that to be grateful and to give back to those who’ve helped you is really important. I wish something like that is always used in society. I like how in Chinese culture, all sayings have a story and a deeper meaning behind them. I really hope this was a true story. This story really shows how being kind can help you in the end.
Thank you for sharing this story with us! I have heard and read many Chinese fables, but this is the first time reading this story/idiom. I always love stories that have a lesson in the end, in this case the lesson in the story was to be thankful of those who help you. I can relate to this theme a lot because I don’t always express my gratitude towards my parents or grandparents, who I owe a lot too. It was very heartwarming that Han Xin repaid the old lady who use to fed him everyday when he became king. I really like Chinese fables and sayings because most if not all of them have a deeper meaning which is left to be contemplated and inferred.
This is such an interesting story. I haven’t heard of this before so it was a new experience for me. I loved the part when Han Xin had helped the old lady who fed him everyday when he became the king. I like how the main message of the story is to repay those who have helped you in the past.
Very interestig story. I’ve heard this word before but I didn’t bother to learn about the story behind it until today. I would like to read more articles like this. This is amazing and keep it up! Also I like the picture, it’s very simple and colorful.
Amazing article! I have never seen this story before but it was very interesting to read. The main lesson of the story seems to be that to be grateful and repay those that have helped you. The lesson of the story is very simple but strong. But some people still do not take that lesson seriously. The story is very simple and I admire Han Xin for repaying those who helped him later.
Nice!!! I’ve heard of this story before while i was staying in China and now I know the story behind it! Thank you for showing me the meaning of his idiom, the story was very interesting.
Amazing article! I heard this story in China and I completely agree. There was a poor old man who couldn’t feed himself and his neighbors wouldn’t feed him anymore. The lady who is not much better off feeds him and he returns the favor when he is in better conditions. He remembers who helps him. Keep up the good work.
好文章。 这个故事非常迷人。 我很喜欢中国故事，因为他们总是有某种生活信息。 我也非常喜欢这篇文章。 谢谢你的分享。
I’ve never heard of this story, but this is really interesting. I have heard of this lesson but never heard the story behind it. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Interesting article! This is a nice and meaningful story. I enjoyed reading your article. I heard this idiom before, but I never got the chance to look deeper into it. Thank you for writing this.
This is a very interesting article! I think the story is sweet and has great morals. I’m glad Han Xin was able to repay the woman who helped him. This story has a great lesson to it.
This was a great read!! I never heard of this story before so this was new to me. It really is great how the poor man would be so determined to pay this woman back. There is a really great lesson to get out of this. Thanks for writing this.
Wow! Cool story. I almost never get to read Chinese folktale or even listen to these kinds of stories. Although it is fake, it is still a very enticing and interesting story. The moral and lesson being taught by this is actually very important and could build you good relationships with people in the future. Although I hoped that we could also learn how a boy like him became king, I think it is up. to the reader’s imagination to think about what happened. I hope to see more of these stories in the future! Keep up the good work
Wow, a very interesting article! I almost never get to read Chinese folktale or even listen to these kinds of stories. Although it is fake, it is still a very enticing and interesting story. The moral and lesson being taught by this is actually very important and could build you good relationships with people in the future. Although I hoped that we could also learn how a boy like him became king, I think it is up. to the reader’s imagination to think about what happened. I hope to see more of these stories in the future! Keep up the good work
Nice Story! This legend was a good one to say the least. The boy was very determined to help that old lady and the way he repaid her was priceless. Keep up the good work!
This is very beautiful story. Legends and fables like these give us important life lessons and morals. It looks like the the boy in the story is responsible for himself. He is sure a big helper to everyone. Next time, there should be more of these wonderful stories!
This is a very interesting article! I think the story is sweet and has great morals. I’m glad Han Xin was able to repay the woman who helped him. This story has a great lesson to it.
This was a very interesting article! I never heard this story before and seemed very interesting. The moral of this story is a very good and meaningful one and should be done around the world. I kept on wanting to read more after each sentence and really thought that the story was a great lesson to be taught. Great job and I hope to see more content in the future!
Great article! I have never heard of this story but it was very intriguing to read. I think that it’s great that this story has a moral in the end. It shows us that we should help others, and we should repay the kindness shown by others. I hope that we can learn and apply this message into our lives. Thanks for sharing!
Great article! I’ve never heard of this story or the idiom before. It is very interesting and sends a great message about generosity and gratefulness. Han Xin’s determination to pay the old woman back is very touching. I hope many people can learn from the lesson of this story.
I love this story! The old woman helped Han Xin out of the goodness of her heart in the story, not expecting anything in return. I like how Han Xin eventually does something in return for the old woman. I especially love how it ends happily. Even if we do not get awarded by a king with a thousand ingots, however, we should still do our best to help the poor.
This is a very interesting story! It is evident that Han Xin is a truly noble man, for he was quite grateful and repaid the the old lady. I also learned that the idiom 一饭千金 means to be grateful and repay those who have helped you in the past. I also feel bad for Han Xin, for he must have led quite a difficult life. I think it was unfair of the villagers to not feed him and get annoyed at him.