"An ignorant eye inlaid with jade" is often used to refer to ignorance and inability to distinguish things. However, what is "gold inlaid with jade"? It comes from a historical story.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the jade pu of the Bian River in Chu State was presented to King Wen of Chu and carved into jade, which was called "River" in history. Legend has it that this wall is warm in winter and cool in summer, and mosquitoes dare not fly near it within a hundred paces. It is a rare treasure. After the Qin Dynasty unified China, "He Shibi" changed hands several times and fell into the hands of Qin Shihuang. Qin Shihuang ordered jade workers to carve it into a jade seal. The jade seal is four inches long, two feet wide and two feet high, and it is engraved with eight seal characters inscribed by Li Si, "I will live forever." There are also five dragons carved around, which are absolutely exquisite. Qin Shihuang couldn't put it down and regarded it as a sacred object.

After the Qin dynasty destroyed the Han dynasty, "He Shibi" returned to Liu Bang after many vicissitudes. Liu Bang handed it down from generation to generation as a national decree and passed it on to 12 emperors. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, a two-year-old boy ascended the throne and hid the jade seal in Changle Palace. After Wang Mang usurped power, he sent Wang Xun and Su Xian to coerce Xiao Yuan to hand over the imperial seal. When the queen mother saw that the country was ruined, she took out the decree in a rage and threw it on the ground. A corner of this national treasure handed down from ancient times was broken on the spot, and it was later repaired by a skilled craftsman. The missing corner was inlaid with gold, hence the name "gold inlaid with jade seal". "Gold inlaid with jade" comes from this.

The rare national treasure "gold inlaid with jade" disappeared in the Three Kingdoms period, but the proverb "ignorance of gold inlaid with jade" has been passed down to this day.