During the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history, there lived a student of Confucius, Zeng Shen, who become well-known for his filial attitude of respect.

曾参，字子舆，春秋时期鲁国人，孔子的得意弟子，世称“曾子”，以孝著称。

His father passed away while Shen was still young.He was extremely respectful and obedient¹ to his mother.

曾参从小丧父，他也非常尊重和顺服他的母亲。

Every day the young man would go into the mountains to cut firewood; his mother would stay home and weave cloth to sell. Mother and son had to work hard to earn enough to get by.

每天,曾参都会上山砍柴，母亲则留在家里纺织。母子不得不这么努力的工作来养活自己。

One day Zeng Shen set out early for the mountains. A guest who had traveled a long distance arrived at the Zeng household that very morning.

一天，曾参提前上山砍柴，一个旅客跋山涉水，到了他家。

The family being poor, there was nothing with which to entertain the guest, and no way to properly welcome him.

家里特别穷，以至于他没有办法很好的招待客人。

As Zeng Shen was not at home, his mother did not know what to do, and she could only hope that her son would return soon from the mountains.

由于曾参没在家，所以他母亲根本不知道怎么做，她只有期待着儿子早点从上山回来。

The boy did not show up, and Mrs. Zeng grew agitated². Without realizing what she was doing, she put her finger into her mouth and bit it.

儿子没回来，母亲开始焦虑了。母亲不知所措，就用牙咬自己的手指。

In her nervousness, she bit her finger so hard that it bled. Zeng Shen, in the mountains, suddenly felt a stinging³ pain in his heart, and knew there must be something amiss with his mother. He quickly bundled up the brush and kindling⁴ and ran back down the mountain.Arriving before his mother, he knelt in the doorway⁵ and asked her what was the matter.

因为紧张，所以手指头被咬流血了。在山上的曾参忽然觉得心疼，知道母亲在呼唤自己，便背着柴迅速返回家中，跪问缘故。

Relieved and happy, she said, "A guest has come and I was so upset that I bit my finger. You must be a truly respectful child that you can know your mother's thoughts from a distance!"

母亲说：“有客人忽然到来，我咬手指盼你回来。”你是真正孝顺的孩子，所以你会知道母亲在远方的心。