Send goose feathers thousands of miles away? 【qiān lǐ sòng é máo】？
Basic interpretation: Metaphorical gifts, though meager, contain profound friendship.
Source: Song Ouyang Xiu's poem "Mei Yu Sheng sends ginkgo": "Goose feathers give a thousand miles, people are important."
Vernacular translation: Although goose feathers travel thousands of miles, it is this person who is valued.
During the Spring Festival, I sent a China holiday card to my sister abroad. Goose feather sent from afar, a trifling present with a weighty thought behind it; It's not the gift that counts, but the thought behind it.
Extended data:
Allusions to sending goose feathers thousands of miles away:
During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, Uighur in the Western Regions was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. On one occasion, in order to show friendship with the Tang Dynasty, the Uighur kingdom sent an envoy Mian Bogao to visit the King of Tang with a batch of rare treasures. Among these tributes, the most precious is a rare bird-the white swan.
Mian Bogao is most worried about this white swan. If something happens to him, how will he tell the king? Therefore, along the way, I dare not neglect for a moment. On this day, Mian Bogao came to mian yang Lake, opened the cage and brought the white swan to the water's edge to make it drink.
Who knows that the white swan drank enough water, closed its neck and flew into the sky! Mian Bogao jumped forward, only picked up a few feathers, but failed to catch the white swan and watched it fly without a trace. For a moment, Mian Bogao was in a daze with a few white goose feathers, thinking back and forth about a question in his mind: "What should I do? What should I bring to see Emperor Taizong? Go back? How can I see the Uighur king! "
The attendants said, "The swan has flown away. Let's think of a remedy." After careful consideration, Mian Bogao decided to continue his trip to the East. He took out a piece of white silk, carefully wrapped the goose feather, and wrote a poem on the silk book: "Swan salutes the Tang Dynasty, and the mountain is heavy and the road is far. Sheep Lake has lost its treasure, so it is difficult to throw it away. Serve the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and confess to Mian Bogao. Things are light and people are righteous, and goose feathers are sent thousands of miles! "
Mian Bogao arrived in Chang 'an soon with jewels and goose feathers. Emperor Taizong received goose feathers from Mian Bogao and Mian Bogao. Emperor Taizong read this poem and listened to Mian Bogao's complaints. Instead of blaming him, he felt that Mian Bogao was honest and fulfilled his mission, so he gave him a big reward.
From then on, "a thousand miles to send goose feathers, courtesy is lighter than righteousness" has become a portrayal or a modest word of courtesy between people in China.
Baidu encyclopedia-send goose feathers thousands of miles away