It's the thought that counts.(lǐ qīng qíng yì zhòng)

It's the thought that counts.

It is a Chinese idiom with the pronunciation of L ǐ Q ī ngq í ngy ì zh ò ng. It means that although a gift is light, it has deep affection. From Li Zhiyuan's return to prison at the end of Yuan Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

From Li Zhiyuan's the end of returning to prison: brother, he worships righteousness as if he were a relative, but his courtesy is light and righteousness is heavy, so he is glad to accept it. In ancient times, there was a family who was very poor. Her husband studied hard in history books and wanted to get an official title. Her wife made a living by sewing and washing for others. There was a merchant who used rickshaw to deliver coal to rich people every day. It was hard for this woman to mend and wash the slurry every day. When she went to deliver coal every day, she put a large piece of coal at the door of poor people. After three years of hard work, the husband of this poor family finally won the title and won the number one prize. In order to repay the coal merchant, he went all the way to thank his benefactor every new year. Although he won the title, his husband studied hard for three years and was heavily in debt. He was destitute and had no gift to give. There was a big white goose at home. His wife proposed to give it to his benefactor, but the number one didn't think about it No, I took the big white goose to the merchant's house. When I got to the merchant's door, I saw all kinds of gifts brought by relatives and friends in and out. As long as I brought the big white goose, and the white goose was a little dirty, there was a river beside it. The champion wanted to wash the white goose, and it was pleasant to see. As a result, when the white goose got into the water, if he saw the Savior, he swam along the river After he left, it was useless for the number one scholar to catch him. He only left a handful of goose feathers in his hand. He lamented at the merchant's door that it was not easy. When the merchant knew about this, he politely welcomed and entertained the number one scholar, and said with a sincere smile: "it's light to send goose feathers for thousands of miles, but it's heavy to be affectionate."

Related stories

The story of "sending goose feathers from a thousand miles" took place in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, in order to show his friendship to the Tang Dynasty, the king of Huihe in the western regions sent a special envoy, mianbogao, to contribute to Taizong. When passing the Mianyang River, the kind-hearted mianbogao released the swan from its cage to let it drink. Unexpectedly, the Swan spread its wings and flew high into the sky. Burman Gao quickly reached for it and only pulled a few goose feathers. He was so anxious that he beat his chest and cried. The entourage advised him: "it's no use crying because it's already gone. I'd better think about the remedy." I think that's the only way. When he arrived in Chang'an, he paid a visit to Emperor Taizong and presented gifts. When Emperor Taizong saw that it was a delicate silk bag, he opened it and saw that it was a few goose feathers and a poem. The poem said: "Swan tribute to the Tang Dynasty, high mountains, long way. Mianyang River lost its treasure and fell to the ground crying. Go up and restore the son of heaven, and forgive me. The gift is light, the affection is heavy, send goose feather thousands of miles away. " Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was baffled, and Burmese uncle Gao immediately told the whole story. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty repeatedly said, "it's very valuable! praiseworthy for one's excellent conduct! It's a light gift and a heavy affection to send goose feathers for thousands of miles! "

Chinese PinYin : lǐ qīng qíng yì zhòng