During the Sui Dynasty, a scholar named Jia had read a few books and knew quite a few characters. In his remote, impoverished village, no one seemed more learned than him, so he grew so proud he forgot himself, always showing off his writing before others. The villagers, amused, called him "Doctor," which delighted him to no end—though in truth, they never truly believed he had any real talent.
One day, Jia Sheng was strolling through the market, looking around, when he unknowingly reached the donkey market. A stench of dung hit his nose. Jia Sheng quickened his pace, eager to leave, when suddenly he heard someone call out, "Doctor! Doctor! Slow down!"
Jia Sheng turned around, recognized Zhang Er from the neighboring village, and quickly asked, "What's the matter?" Zhang Er replied, "This is great—the scholar will definitely write it."
It turned out that Zhang Er had bought a donkey, and according to the custom of the time, the buyer should write a bill of sale for the seller. But Zhang Er was illiterate and couldn't find anyone literate to write it for him. He was just getting anxious when the "scholar" arrived, and he could ask him to help write one.
Upon hearing that Zhang Er wanted him to write a contract, Jia Sheng readily agreed, "A trivial matter."
Zhang Er then borrowed a brush and inkstone, and also borrowed a table and stool from a roadside tea stall, inviting Jia Sheng to write on the spot. Jia Sheng spread paper on the table, held his brush, shook his head and thought for a while, then began to write.
He wrote and paused, wrote and paused again—it took him ages just to fill one sheet of paper. Then he spread out another and continued writing. As the second sheet was nearly full, Jia Sheng showed no sign of stopping, absorbed in his own work, pressing on without a break.
The donkey seller had grown impatient. He was a seasoned trader who had sold donkeys countless times and seen many contracts, but never one written like Jia Sheng's. Watching him write endlessly, he urged him to hurry, but this "scholar," fully absorbed in his work, ignored him completely and kept writing.
Jia Sheng had already filled three large sheets of paper and was still calling for Zhang Er to bring more. As dusk approached, the donkey seller could no longer contain himself and said, "Could you write a little less? I'd like to get home early." Jia Sheng, displeased, replied, "What's the rush? I'm just about to get to the word 'donkey'." "What?" The buyer and seller exchanged bewildered glances.
Just then, a scholarly-looking man passed by. The donkey seller stopped him and begged him to look at Jia Sheng's contract. Jia Sheng looked smug as he handed over the three sheets. The man took them, patiently read from start to finish—all irrelevant nonsense with nothing to do with buying a donkey, not even a single word about the "donkey."
The deal never went through, but the reputation of being a "fake scholar" had already spread. Later, the idiom "Three Pages, No Donkey" came to describe writing or speaking that misses the point—though a great deal is written or said, it strays far from the topic.
Source: *Yan Family Instructions*, Chapter "Encouraging Learning"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "三纸无驴" came to describe how writing or speaking that misses the point—though a great deal is written or said, it strays far from the topic.