Ｙｉ Ｎｕｏ Ｑｉａｎ Ｊｉｎ

Literal Meaning:

A promise worth one thousand liang of gold

Metaphorical Meaning:

It is used to describe the person who is trustworthy and a man of his word.

At the end of Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC), there was a man named Ji Bu in the region of Chu (present Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and so on). He was an honest and frank person and was always willing to help people. He always tried his best to keep his word when he gave a promise. Therefore, people familiar to him liked him.

When Xiang Yu was fighting against Liu Bang for the governance of ancient China, Ji Bu served Xiang Yu and gave Xiang Yu some good suggestions resulting in the failures of Liu Bang. However, Liu Bang was the final winner and founded the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). After becoming the emperor, Liu Bang issued the order for arresting Ji Bu.

People admiring Ji Bu all helped him evade the arrest. Ji Bu went to Shandong Province and worked as a servant in a Zhu family. The family, which once received help from Ji Bu, took him despite the danger. Then, Ji Bu asked Xiahou Ying, who worked for Liu Bang, to intercede in his behalf. Liu Bang cancelled the order for arresting and entitled him to be the governor of Hedong region (present Shanxi Province).

A fellow townsman of Ji Bu named Cao Qiusheng heard Ji Bu become a high-ranked official. He immediately went to see Ji Bu.

Ji Bu always looked down upon Cao Qiusheng. When he saw him, he pulled a face and said some cold words. Cao Qiusheng, regardless of how cold Ju Bu treated him, always made a smiling face at him and spoke sweet words. He said: “I always heard people in your hometown say ‘a thousand liang (the weight unit in ancient China) of gold is not worth of a promise from Ji Bu. We are the fellow townsmen and I can make your fame known to every one. Why are you so cold to me?” Ji Bu was very glad after hearing these words. He treated Cao as a distinguished guest and gave him a valuable present when Cao left.

Afterward, Cao disseminated Ji Bus fame in every place he went to. Therefore, Ju Bu was more and more famous for his honesty and frankness..