Jié căo xián huán: Eternally grateful

When the Chinese want to express deep gratitude for someone's good work or generosity, they might say jié căo xián huán. It literally means “to tie grass into a bundle and hold a jade ring in the mouth.” And why would they use such a strange expression? Read on and find out.

Jié căo...

Wei Wuzi was an official in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period. He had many wives, but one was very special to him. As he was no longer a young mean, Wen feared when he got sick that he would soon die. For this reason, he advised his favorite wife to find another husband as soon as he died. But while he was on his deathbed, Wen had a change of heart and realized he didn't want to be separated from his wife. He told his son Wei Ke to have his favorite wife put to death, so that she can be buried with him. This way, they will be together even in the afterlife.

When Wei Wuzi passed away, his son, rather than have his father's the favorite wife killed, allowed her to remarry instead. He justified his action by saying that while his father lay dying, he was no longer in his right mind and his pronouncements could not be trusted. To the younger Wei, then, he was fulfilling his father's earlier wish to see his favorite wife remarried.

After sometime, Wei Ke met the commander of the state of Qin, Du Hui, in battle. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a strange old man on the battlefield, tying grass stalks together. Du Hui's horse tripped over the grass stalks and the great general was taken prisoner.

The night after this incident, Wei Ke had a dream in which the strange old man appeared. He said he was the father of the woman that Wei had saved. He said that helping Wei capture the enemy leader was his way of paying off his debt of gratitude. The first part of the saying, jié căo, "to tie grass," originates from this incident.

...xián huán

The next part, “to hold a jade ring in the mouth” is based on another story:

There was once a boy named Yang Bao who one day some big birds were picking on a smaller one. He decided to save the little bird by bringing it home and nursing it back to health until the day it was strong enough to play away.

On the night that the bird left, Yang had a dream. A young man dressed in yellow holding four jade rings in his mouth said that he was a messenger from the Queen Mother of the West. The Queen was very grateful to Yang for what he did and the jade rings symbolized that the boy's descendants up to the fourth generation will succeed in life and business. And so it came to pass, exactly as predicted, and the story ended as a thousand other fables do.