黄绢幼妇 — “A literary riddle or coded phrase that”

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a 14-year-old girl named Cao E in Shangyu, Zhejiang. When her father drowned in the river, Cao E bravely threw herself into the water to search for his body and eventually drowned herself. Her filial piety quickly spread and became imbued with superstitious reverence, making Cao E a paragon of filial daughters in feudal society.

Du Shang, the magistrate of Shangyu at the time, erected a monument in her honor, which became known as the famous "Cao E Stele." It is said that the inscription on the stele was composed by Handan Chun, who was only 13 years old at the time. He penned the excellent inscription in front of a crowd after a brief moment of thought.

The renowned literary figure Cai Yong once visited Shangyu and made a special trip to see the stele. It was evening when he arrived, and in the dim twilight, he touched the inscription with his hands as he read it. Afterward, on the back of the stele, he inscribed eight large characters: "黄绢幼妇外孙臼" (yellow silk, young woman, daughter's grandson, mortar). These eight characters formed a famous literary riddle.

When deciphered, "黄绢" (yellow silk) alludes to "绝" (jué, meaning extremely/superb), "幼妇" (young woman) to "妙" (miào, meaning wonderful/ingenious), "外孙" (daughter's grandson) to "好" (hǎo, meaning good), and "臼" (mortar) to "辞" (cí, meaning words/rhetoric). Together, they spell out "绝妙好辞" (juémiàohǎocí), meaning "extremely exquisite writing." This was Cai Yong's hidden praise for the stele's brilliant inscription.