蓝田生玉 — “Lantian produces jade”

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Jin, courtesy name Ziyu, was a great general of Eastern Wu. He had a son named Zhuge Ke, who was intelligent, articulate, and eloquent from a young age. Sun Quan was very fond of this child.

Once, Sun Quan hosted a banquet in the imperial court, and six-year-old Zhuge Ke attended with his father. Zhuge Jin had a particularly long face. Sun Quan, feeling playful after drinking, ordered a donkey to be brought in. He wrote 'Zhuge Ziyu' on the donkey's long face, intending to mock Zhuge Jin's facial features. Everyone present burst into laughter, and Zhuge Jin felt quite embarrassed. Zhuge Ke, seeing this, walked up to Sun Quan's seat and knelt, requesting to add two more characters. Sun Quan handed him a brush. Zhuge Ke then added '之驴' (meaning 'of a donkey') after the four characters, making it 'Zhuge Ziyu's Donkey'. All the ministers were astonished and admired his quick wit. Sun Quan was delighted by Zhuge Ke's cleverness and immediately gifted the donkey to him.

Another time, Sun Quan asked Zhuge Ke, 'Compared to your father and your uncle Zhuge Liang, who is more brilliant?' Zhuge Ke replied without hesitation, 'My father is more brilliant.' Sun Quan asked him to explain why. He said, 'My father understands how to serve an enlightened ruler, while my uncle does not grasp this principle. Therefore, my father is naturally more brilliant.' Sun Quan then remarked to Zhuge Jin, 'People say that Lantian produces fine jade, and distinguished families produce worthy sons. This is truly well-deserved!'