Yi Qin Yi He

In the Northern Song Dynasty， a man named Zhao Bian was appointed to service as an official in Shu， which today is Sichuan Province. During his journey to Shu， Zhao only had a plucked string instrument and a crane， both of which were considered as symbols of elegance by ancient scholars， as his baggage.

Zhao wrapped the string instrument with a cloth bag and placed the crane into a bamboo basket. With a horse carrying the musical instrument and the cane on its back， Zhao embarked on his journey on a morning.

After hearing Zhaos story， Emperor Shenzong of Song summoned him and expressed his appreciation.

The emperor said： “It is very impressive that you only have a string instrument and a crane as your whole baggage in your journey to Shu by horse. I hope that during your term， you can better troops， streamline the government administration， and be free from corruption as now.”