During the Tang Dynasty, a scholar named Wang Lingran passed the imperial examinations but failed to receive an official post because selections were suspended that year.
Living in dire poverty, a man named Wang hoped to change his fortunes through an official recommendation. Recalling that Imperial Censor Gao Changyu had once praised his essays when serving as a county magistrate in his hometown, Wang wrote him a letter seeking patronage.
In the letter, he recalled how he first met Gao Changyu, and then said:
"In Songcheng, our friendship ran deep—we were true friends. But after you entered court as an official, you forgot me. That year, when you were sent on a mission to Jiangnan and passed through Songcheng, you asked about many people but overlooked me alone. My heart was deeply dissatisfied, but with my lowly status, I could do nothing about it."
"Three years ago, I failed the imperial exams and wrote to you. You kindly replied, encouraging me and saying I had natural talent and would surely pass in the future—I was deeply grateful. But now that I've passed the exams this year, I still haven't been assigned an official post. So I'm writing to you again, hoping for your help. I imagine this is not a difficult matter for you. However, if you, being a man of importance, have simply forgotten about this old friend, then I will patiently wait—I trust the court will select officials next year."
"However, I must warn you—a scholar's future is hard to predict. Perhaps I too will become a high court official like you. If you don't help me now, when we meet at court in the future, I will look at you with sidelong eyes!"
Later, the idiom "A Noble Person Is Prone to Forget" is often used to describe how people of high status tend to forget things.
Source: *Tangzhiyan*, Chapter "Huìhèn"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "贵人多忘" came to describe how people of high status tend to forget things.