SHE BIT HER FINGER AND PAINED HIS HEART

啮指心痛 SHE BIT HER FINGER AND PAINED HIS HEART




周。曾参。字子舆。事母至孝。参曾采薪山中。家有客至。母无措参不还。乃啮其指。参忽心痛。负薪以归。跪问其母。母曰。有客忽至。吾啮指以悟汝耳。后人系诗颂之。诗曰

Zēng Shēn of the Zhōu dynasty was called Zĭ-yú (=Disciple of the Master). He was extremely filial to his mother. Shēn once went to the mountains to gather firewood. A guest came to the house, and his mother had no arrangements [to entertain him]. She longed for Shēn , who did not return. Then she bit her finger, drawing blood. Suddenly Shēn felt a pain in his heart. He shouldered the firewood and returned home. Kneeling, he asked his mother what the matter was. His mother said: "A guest came unexpectedly. I bit my finger to alert you." Later, verses praised him, saying:



母指方缠嚙。儿心痛不禁。负薪归未晚。骨肉至情深。

His mother has just bitten her finger,

When her son's heart aches uncontrollably;

He shoulders his wood to return and is not too late;

The tie between mother and child [lit.: bones & flesh] is so deep.