During the Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty, a wealthy merchant named Yang Chongyi in Chang'an owned a clever parrot with a red beak and green feathers that could mimic human speech, making it his cherished pet. One day, Yang Chongyi was found murdered in his garden, and the local magistrate, unable to solve the case, visited the mansion to investigate. As he passed the parrot's cage, the bird suddenly cried out, "It was my master's wife, Lady Li, and her lover, Li Bian, who killed him!" The magistrate immediately arrested the pair, who confessed under interrogation. The emperor, hearing of the parrot's role in solving the crime, was so impressed that he granted the bird an official title and bestowed imperial gifts upon it. This story gave rise to the idiom "parrot informs on its master," used to describe someone who exposes secrets or betrays trust.
Yang Chongyi was a wealthy man with a wide circle of friends, often spending ten days or half a month away from home, drinking and enjoying the scenery by the Qujiang Pool outside the city with a few close companions.
Once, a man named Yang Chongyi had been away from home for nearly a month without returning. His wife, Lady Liu, sent servants to search everywhere, but no trace of him was found, so she reported the case to the Wannian County office, which governed the eastern part of Chang'an.
After receiving the complaint, the magistrate of Wannian County dispatched a large number of yamen runners to investigate everywhere, but they found nothing. Since Yang Chongyi was a renowned wealthy man, the magistrate dared not take the case lightly and personally went to the Yang residence to conduct an on-site inspection.
The county magistrate arrived at the Yang residence and noticed that Liu, the young widow, was dressed in mourning but had applied light makeup and wore a strong fragrance, her eyes betraying grief yet her face showing a hint of color. Suspicion arose in his mind. After offering a few words of comfort, he asked her to rest inside, then, accompanied by several attendants and guided by the old servant Yang An, he walked along a corridor toward the back garden.
As Magistrate Yang reached the west hall of the long corridor, a sudden shout rang out: "The killer is Liu and Li Yan!" Startled, he looked around but saw no one. Yang An pointed and said, "Sir, it's my parrot speaking!" The magistrate asked, "Who is Li Yan, and what relation does he have to your master?" Yang An replied, "He's a neighbor's youth with no connection to my master." The magistrate pressed, "Does your back garden have a side gate?" "Yes, there's one next to the Yang residence, and the key is kept by the mistress."
The county magistrate, grasping the situation, immediately ordered the arrest of Li Yan and Lady Liu. Under interrogation, the truth came to light.
It turned out that Li Yan was a playboy who often sneaked into the Yang mansion while Yang Chongyi was away, carrying on an affair with Lady Liu; after their trysts, he urged her to conspire in murdering her husband.
One evening, Yang Chongyi stumbled home dead drunk, only to be ambushed and strangled by Li Yan, who had been lying in wait. When the night grew still, Liu and Li Yan dragged the body to a dried-up well in the back garden and buried it—but they didn't realize the family parrot had witnessed everything, and that's how the crime came to light.
The story of a parrot solving a crime caused a sensation in Chang'an. Emperor Xuanzong ordered the parrot brought into the palace and bestowed upon it the title "Green-Clad Messenger." Later, people used the idiom "Green-Clad Messenger" to refer to parrots, and in modern times, it came to denote postal couriers.
During the Tang Dynasty, a wealthy merchant named Yang Chongyi kept a beloved parrot that could speak. One day, Yang was murdered by his nephew, and when officials arrived to investigate, the parrot suddenly cried out, "Kill my master! It was his nephew!" The startled officials interrogated the nephew, who confessed under pressure. The case was solved thanks to the parrot's testimony. Emperor Xuanzong, hearing of this, marveled, "A bird that can speak and uphold justice is truly rare!" He then ordered the parrot to be honored as a "Green-robed Envoy" and granted it imperial gifts from the throne. This story, recorded in *Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy* by Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties, shows how even a bird can reveal the truth when humans fail. Today, the phrase "parrot reports the crime" is used to describe an unexpected witness exposing wrongdoing.
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "绿衣使者" came to describe how an unexpected witness exposes wrongdoing.