Wang Xiang of the Western Jin Dynasty lost his birth mother, Xue, as a child. His father, Wang Rong, remarried a woman named Zhu, who treated Wang Xiang like a thorn in her side and abused him relentlessly. Yet Wang Xiang remained filial to his stepmother. When Zhu fell ill, Wang Xiang stayed by her bedside day and night, never undressing. He would always taste the herbal medicine himself to check its temperature before serving it to her.
In the Wang family courtyard grew a plum tree, bearing large, sweet, and delicious fruit. One year, the harvest was especially abundant. As the plums neared ripeness, Zhu Shi, who loved them dearly, feared birds would peck at them, so she ordered Wang Xiang to shoo them away. One night, a fierce wind suddenly arose, followed by a torrential downpour. Many plums, unable to withstand the storm, fell one after another. Wang Xiang rushed into the courtyard, hugged the plum tree, and wept bitterly. Moved by the sight, Zhu Shi could not help but feel touched.
One winter, Zhu suddenly craved fresh fish. The weather was freezing, the river thickly frozen, making it impossible for fishermen to cast nets. Wang Xiang searched several streets and towns but couldn't buy any. Determined to get fresh fish for his stepmother, he told her, "Leave this to me. If the fishermen won't fish, I'll catch them myself."
Wang Xiang grabbed his fishing net and wooden club, rushing to the riverbank to break the ice and cast his net. Finding his winter robes too bulky for the task, he stripped down to his undergarments and struck the ice with all his might. The ice was stubbornly thick, so he thought, "Why not lie on the ice for a while? This way, I can rest while my body heat melts the frozen surface." He did just that, lying still for some time before rising to resume his assault. With relentless effort, he finally smashed a great hole through the ice.
Wang Xiang stared at the hole in the ice, overjoyed. He cast his net and on the very first try caught two large golden carp. Without delay, he rushed home to present the fish as a filial offering to his stepmother.
When the neighbors heard about it, they all gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Wang Xiang is truly a rare paragon of filial piety!"
Through his unwavering devotion, Wang Xiang's stepmother Zhu eventually had a change of heart and began treating him as her own son.
Wang Xiang, one of China's most famous filial sons, is said to have once lain on ice in his undergarments until the ice cracked and two carp leaped out—a miraculous tale hard to believe. In truth, he simply removed his coat and broke the ice to catch fish.
Later, the idiom "Wang Xiang Lies on Ice" came to describe doing everything possible to show filial devotion to one's parents.
Source: *In Search of the Supernatural*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "王祥卧冰" came to describe how doing everything possible to show filial devotion to one's parents.