According to the legend, Ding Lan was a man of Henei (today's Anyang, Henan) in the East Han Dynasty.

丁兰，相传为东汉时期河内（今河南黄河北）人

Both his parents died when he was young. He often thought of his parents' love and care for him and therefore carved sculptures of his parents with wood.

幼年父母双亡，他经常思念父母的养育之恩，于是用木头刻成双亲的雕像

He showed filial respect to the sculptures as if they were his parents, discussing everything with them, eating every meal only after paying respect to them, reporting to them before going out and meeting them right after returning home without fail.

事之如生，凡事均和木像商议,每日三餐敬过双亲后自己方才食用，出门前一定禀告，回家后一定面见，从不懈怠。

As time went by, his wife didn't pay much respect to the wood sculptures and even pierced their fingers curiously¹.

久之，其妻对木像便不太恭敬了，竟好奇地用针刺木像的手指

Blood ran out of the fingers of the wood sculptures unexpectedly. When Ding Lan returned home, he saw tears in the eyes of the sculptures. He got to know the fact from his wife and then repudiated² her.

而木像的手指居然有血流出。丁兰回家见木像眼中垂泪，问知实情，遂将妻子休弃。