Treasured Chinese Stories: A Surprising Reward for a Handicapped Man

Treasured Chinese Stories: A Surprising Reward for a Handicapped Man
Ancient Chinese stories often tell of miracles happening to those who perform good deeds. (Shutterstock)
9/21/2018
Updated:
10/2/2018

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a person who lived in Chiayi State of Taiwan. His name was Lin Dengzhang, and he was very kind and honest. But unfortunately, he was falsely accused and imprisoned. His wife sold all their property and even their son in order to have enough money to get her husband out of prison. She took 40 taels of silver to pay the county government official for her husband’s release, but she lost the money on her way there.

The money was picked up by a handicapped man named Xu Liangsi. Liangsi couldn’t stand and could only use his hands to crawl around. After he found the silver, he thought, “Whoever lost such a large amount of money might commit suicide. Although I am poor and could really use this money to buy some food and fill my stomach, this is related to someone’s life; it is really a big deal. I would rather die of hunger than keep the money for myself.”

With this thought in his mind, he was determined to stay and wait for the owner of the money to return.

After a little while, sure enough, Lin Dengzhang’s wife scrambled around, looking everywhere with a worried face. Liangsi saw her and crawled over to ask if she lost anything. After he verified the facts, he was sure the lady was the one who lost the money, and he then returned all of it to her.

The very same day that Liangsi returned the silver to the lady, he slept in Taigong Temple. That night, he had a dream in which two Gods wearing golden armor came at him. Without any explanation, one held his body and the other one took his feet. The two vigorously pulled him. Liangsi suddenly felt sharp pain and sweat all over his body. He screamed loudly and woke up from his dream. He also woke up two monks.

The next morning, Liangsi was surprised to find that he could stretch his legs and walk normally. From then on, he never begged for food, and he carried water for other families. Although he was doing hard labor, his heart was full of joy because he could live normally like everyone else.

Translated by Dora Li into English, this story is reprinted with permission from the book “Treasured Tales of China,” Vol. 1, available on Amazon. 
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