During the Spring and Autumn period, King Ping of Chu had a notorious sycophant named Fei Wuji. One day, the king sent Fei to the State of Qin to escort the bride Meng Ying for Crown Prince Jian. Seeing that Meng Ying was stunningly beautiful, Fei devised a wicked scheme: he kept her for the king as a concubine and married off her maidservant to the prince, pretending she was the bride.
When King Ping of Chu secretly married his son's betrothed, the scandal eventually leaked out. Fei Wuji, fearing Crown Prince Jian would discover the truth and retaliate, urged the king, 'Your Majesty, send the prince to Chengfu to guard the frontier, and have his tutor Wu She accompany him.' The king agreed, and the prince was dispatched to the remote borderlands.
Later, Meng Ying gave birth to a son. To please her, King Ping promised to make her son the crown prince. Fei Wuji, knowing this, slandered Crown Prince Jian and Wu She, claiming they were drilling troops in Chengfu with ill intentions toward the king. Enraged, King Ping declared he would depose Crown Prince Jian. Fei Wuji then devised a treacherous plan: "First, lure Wu She here under false pretenses, then send men to eliminate Crown Prince Jian—this is the safest and most reliable approach." King Ping agreed.
After Wu She was tricked into coming, King Ping imprisoned him and forced him to write a letter summoning his two sons, Wu Shang and Wu Yuan. Soon, Wu Shang was also lured in, but his younger brother Wu Yuan—better known as Wu Zixu—sensed trouble ahead. Determined to survive and avenge his father and brother, he secretly fled. As expected, shortly after Wu Shang arrived, King Ping ordered both him and his father Wu She executed.
King Ping sent men to capture Wu Yuan and issued an order: whoever captured Wu Yuan would receive a reward of fifty thousand shi of grain and be appointed a high official; anyone who harbored him would have their entire family executed. He also had painters draw Wu Yuan's portrait and post it at every checkpoint to verify those passing through.
After Wu Zixu fled the city of Chengfu, his sole aim was to reach the State of Wu and borrow troops to destroy Chu, avenging the murder of his father and brother. Hearing that Crown Prince Jian had escaped to Song, he followed him there. Upon meeting in Song, the two wept bitterly in each other's arms. Just then, internal strife erupted in Song, so they moved on to Zheng. Duke Ding of Zheng sympathized with their plight but, being a small state, could not help them destroy Chu. He advised them to seek aid from Jin, so Crown Prince Jian went alone. Unexpectedly, a Jin minister demanded that Jian act as an inside agent to help them conquer Zheng. Desperate for rescue, Jian agreed.
When Crown Prince Jian returned to the State of Zheng, he reported the matter to Wu Yuan, who firmly opposed it and began secretly maneuvering. Unexpectedly, Duke Ding of Zheng discovered the plot, resulting in Crown Prince Jian's execution. Wu Yuan then fled Zheng with Crown Prince Jian's son, Prince Sheng.
The two hid by day and traveled by night, soon reaching Chen, a vassal state of Chu. If they could slip through Zhaoguan Pass (northwest of present-day Hanshan County, Anhui Province), they would have a direct route to Wu. King Ping of Chu and his advisor Fei Wuji anticipated that Wu Yuan would flee to Wu, so they stationed General Wei Yue with troops to guard the pass.
Not far from Zhaoguan, the two met an old man named Donggao Gong, who sympathized with Wu Yuan and Prince Sheng's plight and decided to help them slip through the pass.
Dong Gao Gong first had a friend disguise himself as Wu Yuan, deliberately acting flustered while passing through Zhaoguan Pass to get captured by Wei Yue's men. As the guards' attention relaxed, the real Wu Yuan and Prince Sheng, carrying a large sack loaded with luggage, slipped through the pass. Only afterward did Dong Gao Gong explain to Wei Yue that the captured man was actually his friend.
After escaping through Zhaoguan, Wu Zixu and Prince Sheng traveled by night and slept by day, finally crossing into Wu territory. They trekked another three hundred li before reaching the Wu capital.
With nothing left to eat and needing to assess the situation to find a chance to meet the King of Wu, Wu Zixu hid his nephew Sheng outside the city. Disguising himself as a beggar, he let his hair hang loose, bared his chest, and crawled on his knees through the bustling streets, clutching a xiao flute. Huffing out his belly, he played and sang a mournful tune to draw attention, wailing, "Alas, my sorrow runs deep as the river, yet no one hears my cry!"
"Woo, woo, woo—"
A Grievance Too Great to Voice.
Running through the states of Song and Zheng without stopping.
Alone and Helpless: Who Will Help
The Unavenged Murder of a Father.
There is a story about a man from the Warring States period who was so ashamed of his wife's infidelity that he declared, "How can I have the face to be a husband?" This idiom is used to describe someone who has lost all sense of shame or dignity, often in the context of a failed relationship or public disgrace. The tale serves as a vivid reminder of the importance of honor and self-respect in Chinese culture.
"Woo, woo, woo—"
A Grievance Too Great to Voice.
The idiom "A Thousand Li a Day" comes from *Zhuangzi*, "Autumn Floods," where it describes the legendary charioteer Zaofu, who could cover a thousand li in a single day, racing at breakneck speed. This phrase later came to represent exceptional talent or rapid progress. In the story, when asked about such speed, Zhuangzi used it as a metaphor for seizing the moment with unmatched skill, reminding listeners that true mastery moves like lightning—swift, purposeful, and unstoppable. Today, it describes anyone advancing with incredible speed and efficiency.
His beard and eyebrows turned white from weeping day and night.
Unable to pluck a single hair, the philosopher Yang Zhu was asked by his disciple Qin Guli, "If plucking one hair from your body could save the world, would you do it?" Yang Zhu replied, "The world is not something one hair can save." Qin Guli pressed, "But if it could, would you?" Yang Zhu remained silent, unwilling to sacrifice even a strand. This story from *Mencius*, Chapter "Jin Xin," illustrates an extreme stance on self-preservation, where even the smallest personal loss is deemed unacceptable for the greater good.
A man from the state of Chu had two wives
To this day, playing the flute and begging for food, tears fall like rain.
The idiom "A Thousand Li a Day" originates from the Warring States period
While begging by playing the xiao in the market of the Wu capital, Wu Zixu caught the attention of Prince Guang, the elder brother of the King of Wu, who invited him into his service. Later, Wu Zixu became a high minister of Wu, helping King Helü reorganize the military and strengthen the state, eventually leading Wu to become a hegemon and defeat Chu, avenging his father and brother.
The idiom "Playing the Flute in Wu Market" comes from this story. Later, it was used to describe wandering, living in hardship, and being talented but unrecognized.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biographies of Fan Ju and Cai Ze"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "吴市吹箫" came to describe wandering, living in hardship, and being talented but unrecognized.