During the Eastern Han Dynasty, in Yuzhang Commandery (modern-day Nanchang, Jiangxi), two young scholars named Chen Zhong and Lei Yi studied the *Lu Poetry* and *Yan's Spring and Autumn Annals* together, forging a deep friendship. When the local governor recommended Chen Zhong for a post, Chen Zhong declined, saying, "Lei Yi is more deserving than I am." The governor refused, so Chen Zhong feigned madness to avoid the appointment. Later, Lei Yi was recommended and served as an official, but when he was promoted to a higher rank, he insisted, "Chen Zhong's virtue and talent surpass mine; I cannot accept this honor alone." His superior dismissed the plea, but Lei Yi repeatedly refused the promotion. Eventually, both were appointed to office together, and their unwavering mutual respect became a model of friendship, inspiring the idiom "Chen Lei's bond of righteousness."
One year, Governor Zhang Yun recommended Chen Zhong as a "Filial and Incorrupt" candidate for office. Chen Zhong promptly declined the honor, writing over a dozen letters to Zhang Yun insisting that Lei Yi was more deserving. The more Chen Zhong deferred, the more Zhang Yun admired his virtue and refused to accept the refusal. The following year, Zhang Yun also recommended Lei Yi for the same title.
After many years, Lei Yi was again recommended as a Maocai. Lei Yi immediately thought of his good friend Chen Zhong and went to the provincial governor, saying, "Chen Zhong's talent and learning surpass mine; please give the Maocai honor to him." The governor refused, saying, "How can this be done?"
Lei Yi pleaded with the provincial governor many times, but the governor refused to listen. So Lei Yi pretended to have gone mad—he let his hair hang loose, wandered around wildly, and babbled nonsense, stubbornly refusing the recommendation.
The people of Lei Yi's hometown all knew he was feigning madness, and their admiration for the two men only grew.
The provincial governor sent someone to investigate and asked the people in Lei Yi's hometown, "Has Lei Yi truly gone mad?" The people in Lei Yi's hometown laughed and said, "As long as Chen Zhong is selected as a talent, Lei Yi's illness will be cured."
The envoy who had come to investigate the situation heard this and also burst out laughing.
These villagers added, "Now there's a saying in our village: Even the strongest glue cannot match the bond between Lei Yi and Chen Zhong."
After learning of these circumstances, the local officials recommended both men as "Maocai" (outstanding talents) at the same time.
Later, the idiom "Chen Lei's Glue and Lacquer" came to describe an unbreakable, inseparable friendship.
Source: *Book of the Later Han*, "Biographies of Exemplars"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "陈雷胶漆" came to describe an unbreakable, inseparable friendship.