He Shi Bi - Discovery

Discovery

The story of how this precious jade was discovered has come from Han Fei in his book of the same name, in the beginning of Chapter 13: He Shi. He Shi means Surname He, referring to Bian He. Bian He found a piece of jade stone in Mountain Chu. He recognized the value of the jade inside the stone and made his offer to his King, Li. King Li had his jeweler examine the stone, who said it was mere stone. King Li punished He by having his left foot cut off. As King Li died and his son, Wu, came to the throne, He once again offered his grand stone to the King. Wu had his jeweler examine the stone, who said it was mere stone. King Wu then punished He by having his right foot cut off. As King Wu died and his son, Wen, came to the throne. He held his jade stone and cried for three days and three nights at the foothill of Mountain Chu. As he ran out of tears, blood came down his cheeks. King Wen sent his man to question him, asking, "Why, when many had their feet cut off, are you grieving so?" He replied, "I'm not grieving for my feet. I'm grieving for the wrongs that a precious jade is called a stone, and an honest man, liar." Upon hearing that, King Wen had his jeweler cut open the stone. A large pure jade was seen nestling inside the stone. In light of the discovery, King Wen named the jade, He Shi, in honor of what Bain He had done to uncover the jade. (He Shi Bi literally means 'The Jade Disc of He').