Mi Heng was a man of Ban County, Pingyuan Commandery (present-day northeast of Linyi, Shandong) in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was exceptionally talented and eloquent. Kong Rong, the Grand Master of Remonstrance at the time, greatly admired him, considered him an outstanding talent, and recommended him to Emperor Xian of Han. In his recommendation, Kong Rong described Mi Heng as "rare and hard to come by."
Though Emperor Xian of Han bore the title of Son of Heaven, he had to follow Cao Cao's lead in all matters, so he submitted the recommendation to Cao Cao. When Cao Cao summoned Mi Heng, Mi Heng held him in contempt and initially refused to come; when he finally did appear, his words were aggressive and confrontational. Cao Cao, deeply displeased, appointed him as a drummer and ordered him to perform during a grand banquet. Seeing his vast learning reduced to beating a drum, Mi Heng was furious and loudly cursed Cao Cao.
Cao Cao, publicly humiliated by Mi Heng, was furious enough to kill him but feared the reputation of executing a talented scholar, so he sent Mi Heng to Jingzhou to persuade Liu Biao to surrender, hoping Liu Biao would do the dirty work.
Governor Liu Biao had long admired the brilliant scholar Mi Heng and treated him like an honored guest. From then on, Liu Biao would seek Mi Heng's approval before making any decision. One day, while Mi Heng was away, Liu Biao and his staff labored over drafting a memorial. When Mi Heng returned, he barely glanced at it before tossing it aside, declaring, "This is worthless!" He then immediately wrote a new version, finishing in moments with such dazzling literary flair that the assembled scholars burst into praise. Liu Biao, overjoyed, valued Mi Heng even more.
But Mi Heng, arrogant about his own talent, also looked down on Liu Biao, so Liu Biao sent him to serve as a secretary under his hot-tempered general Huang Zu, hoping to use another's blade to kill.
Huang Zu and his son Huang She greatly admired Mi Heng's talent, and the documents Mi Heng drafted for Huang Zu were always perfectly composed, leaving Huang Zu thoroughly satisfied.
Huang She and Mi Heng were very close. One day, while out sightseeing, they saw a stele written by the great writer and calligrapher Cai Yong and greatly admired it. After returning, Huang She regretted not recording the inscription. Mi Heng said, "Although I only glanced at it once, I can still remember it."
He then recited the entire inscription from memory on the spot. To verify its accuracy, Huang She, an ardent admirer of Cai Yong's literary style, sent someone to retrieve the original text. When the copy arrived, it matched Mi Heng's recitation word for word. Astonished, Huang She exclaimed in admiration, "You possess a phenomenal memory—truly a rare and heaven-sent genius!"
Soon after, Huang Zu hosted a banquet for his guests. Someone presented him with an exceptionally beautiful, talkative parrot that charmed everyone. Huang She asked Mi Heng to compose an essay to liven up the wine.
Mi Heng, with his quick wit and literary brilliance, grabbed a brush and dashed off the famous "Parrot Rhapsody" in one go—a masterpiece of ornate language and dazzling style that left the entire audience clapping in awe.
Mi Heng was undeniably brilliant, but his arrogance knew no bounds. Once, in front of a crowd of guests, he openly cursed the general Huang Zu, who had him executed on the spot at just 26 years old.
Later, people used the idiom "Rare and Hard to Come By" to describe something scarce and precious, often in praise.
Source: *Kong Rong (Han Dynasty), "Memorial Recommending Mi Heng"*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "不可多得" came to describe how something scarce and precious, often in praise.