The King of Qin, which was the most powerful state during the Warring States period, learned that the King of the state of Zhao had acquired a priceless piece of carved jade. The King of Qin coveted the jade and in 283 BC sent an emissary to Zhao offering to trade 15 cities for it. The King of Zhao was reluctant. He knew that if he accepted the offer Qin would not really give up the cities. But if he refused, the powerful Qin armies would probably attack Zhao. Someone advised him to consult with Lin Xiangru on this dilemma.

Lin Xiangru, who came from a poor family, was a steward of one of the court eunuchs. Though not an important person, he was known to be brave and resourceful and a man of his word. He had also shown considerable ability as an envoy.

"If we refuse Qin out of hand," Lin Xiangru told his king, "it will make us look in the wrong. But if we give Qin the jade and its king does not hand over the cities, it will be they who are in the wrong and this will be to our advantage. Let me handle the matter."

When Lin Xiangru reached Qin, he ceremoniously presented the jade to the king, who was delighted with it. He looked at it this way and that and passed it about for his retainers and the court ladies for them to admire. Everyone congratulated him for having acquired such a good thing. However, in the joy and excitement, Lin Xiangru was ignored and nothing was said about the 15 cities. Finally Lin said to the king: "This is indeed a very good piece of jade, but it has a flaw. You will not be able to detect it unless you look at it carefully. Let me show it to you."

The king believed him and gave back the jade. As soon as he had it in his hands, Lin withdrew a few steps and took a stance beside a pillar. "I brought this jade because I thought your majesty would keep your promise," he said with a great show of anger, "but you have taken it without even a mention of the 15 cities. What kind of trick is this? Now I have the jade. If you try to seize it, I will smash my head against this pillar and the jade with it."

Qin King immediately apologized and called for a map to point out the location of the 15 cities.

Lin Xiangru knew that the ruler still had no intention of relinquishing the cities, but he had another plan up his sleeve. Since early times jade had been revered for its power to impart virtue, and was used for ceremonial purposes. Lin Xiangru said, "Before I bought this jade here, the King of Zhao fasted for five days and held a solemn ceremony. I therefore hope that your majesty will do likewise before I present it to you." The Qin King promised to do so.

But that night Lin Xiangru had one of his men, disguised in rags, secretly take the jade back to Zhao. Not knowing this, after five days, the King of Qin held a grand ceremony for the formal reception of the jade.

At it, Lin Xiangru said to him sternly, "The State of Qin has had some 20 rulers and none of them were known for keeping their word. They all relied on power and oppressed the people. Considering that and my recent experience, I am afraid of being tricked again so I have had the jade taken back to Zhao. If you turn over the 15 cities first, the King of Zhao will certainly not refuse to give you the jade. As for myself, I am prepared to suffer the severest punishment."

The Qin king was furious, but he decided it would be unwise to kill Lin Xiangru, for if he did he might never acquire the jade and relations between the two states would be affected. Reluctantly he allowed Lin Xiangru to return to Zhao.

The King of Zhao was very please with Lin's feat and soon made him prime minister. Lin's promotion, however, was a source of great irritation to another minister, the renowned general Lian Po.

Now Lian Po was really a very upright man who had rendered outstanding service to his state, but he had one big shortcoming - he was vain and arrogant. He could not tolerate the fact that Lin Xiangru, from a poor family, should now hold a higher position than himself. He bad-mouthed Lin at every opportunity.

Lin tried to stay out of Lian Po's way. At state meetings he deliberately avoided sitting on the same side as Lian Po so that it would not be too obvious that he took precedence in seating. One day when he was out in his chariot he saw Lian Po's chariot coming toward him along the narrow road. According to rank, Lian Po was supposed to pull over to let Lin pass. But Lin ordered his driver to pull into a small side lane so that Lian Po could go first.

Lin Xiangru's subordinates could not understand his attitude toward Lian Po. "Do you think I'm afraid of him?" Lin said. "Was I afraid of the fierce King of Qin? I want to get along with Lian Po because we are both officials of Zhao. If we work together, Qin will not dare to bully us, but if we're at odds, it will be easier for Qin to invade us".

These words reached Lian Po's ears. He was deeply moved and regretted the way he had acted. To express his apology, he took off his shirt and went to see Lin Xiangru. On his bare back were many prickly branches of the 'chastisement tree' used for whipping people. Kneeling before Lin, Lian Po said that he should not have let a matter like personal fame and fortune turn him against Lin Xiangru. "I did not recognize your magnanimity and am heartily sorry for what I have done. You have every right to scold me and beat me."

Lin, too, went down on his knees. "You are very hard on yourself, general. Let us share the burdens of state together". They embraced and after that worked side-by-side to build up and defend their state, so for a long time Qin did not dare to invade Zhao.

Legend adapted from Shanghai on Internet