During the Tang Dynasty, there was a young man from a prominent official family named Wang Chengfu. His grandfather and father had both served as the Jingzhao Yin, the chief administrator of the capital, making their family name powerful and influential across the region. In the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era, Wang Chengfu was conscripted into the army. After several years of grueling military campaigns, he returned to the court to pay respects to Emperor Xuanzong. The emperor, recognizing his many contributions on the battlefield, bestowed upon him a great deal of gold, silver, and treasures, and offered to appoint him to an official post. However, Wang Chengfu politely declined the offer.
The emperor, very puzzled, asked, "What exactly do you want?" Wang Chengfu earnestly replied, "I only wish to return to my hometown and work as a mason." The emperor said in surprise, "You refuse a high official post to be a mason—a dirty and exhausting job! Think it over carefully."
But Wang Chengfu's resolve was firm and unshakable. The emperor, seeing his determination, no longer pressed him and graciously granted his request.
Wang Chengfu returned to his hometown and indeed became a mason. Covered in mud and dust from building and repairing houses all day, the villagers lamented, "Master Wang, your talents are wasted here."
Wang Chengfu replied cheerfully, "I was originally just a brick, a tile!"
Whenever the villagers needed help, Wang Chengfu never refused. Despite his official family background, he showed none of the arrogance typical of a noble's son. His craftsmanship was superb: the houses he built were not only sturdy but also beautifully designed. Thus, everyone affectionately called him "Master Mason Wang." Day after day, Wang Chengfu worked this trade for thirty years, the young man of yesteryear now a middle-aged fellow. He came and went alone, and it was time he had a family. Many warm-hearted people tried to play matchmaker for him, yet Wang Chengfu politely declined every offer. Over the decades, he often gave the money he earned through hard labor to the crippled and the hungry. Everyone deeply admired him, though they could not fathom his intentions.
One day, everyone was working together. Someone asked, "Master Wang, why do you do this?" Wang Chengfu looked up, smiled, and said to everyone, "Farming and weaving must be done by people; only when everyone does their best can people survive." "Right, right!" the crowd nodded in agreement.
Wang Chengfu pointed to the government office gate ahead and said, "Officials, regardless of rank, must fulfill their duties. Otherwise, Heaven will punish these lazy gluttons." He then pressed his hand to his chest with relief and continued, "That's why I work as a mason—though it's hard, I feel at peace. Those with greater merit can support a family. But for someone like me, taking a wife and having children would burden both body and mind. Even a sage couldn't handle such a double responsibility!"
The crowd let out murmurs of admiration.
Wang Chengfu's story of self-cultivation, shunning fame and wealth, and willingly embracing hardship spread far and wide. The renowned literary master Han Yu even wrote a biography for him, using it as a sharp critique against the corruption and moral decay of the officials of his time.
Later, the idiom "One Person, Two Roles" came to describe a single person undertaking two tasks.
Source: Han Yu (Tang Dynasty), *The Biography of Wang Chengfu the Tiler*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "一身两任" came to describe a single person undertaking two tasks.