In the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a traveler named Xu Yan walking on the winding path of Sui’an Mountain in Yangxian County. Suddenly, a young scholar, about seventeen or eighteen years old, was lying by the roadside with a painful expression on his face. He claimed to have foot problems and begged Xu Yan to help him temporarily hide in the goose cage he carried with him. Xu Yanchu thought it was a joke, but out of kindness, he finally agreed and opened the goose cage. Surprisingly, the scholar effortlessly squeezed into the cage and coexisted harmoniously with the geese inside. The flock of geese remained calm and undisturbed, and the cage did not expand at all. Xu Yan held the goose cage in his hand and didn’t feel any weight, his heart full of surprise.
Walking to take a nap under a towering ancient tree, the scholar leisurely stepped out of the cage, thanking Xu Yan and expressing his gratitude by hosting a banquet. After speaking, the scholar lightly opened his vermilion lips and spat out a delicate copper plate. The plate was filled with a variety of delicious dishes, including delicacies from all over the world. All the utensils used were made of pure copper, and the aroma was strong, which was rare in the world. In the banquet room, the scholar suddenly said that a woman had been following him like a shadow recently and wanted to invite her to gather together temporarily. Xu Yan readily agreed.
Not long after, the scholar spat out another young woman from his mouth, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a stunning appearance and gorgeous clothing. She ate with the two of them at the same table, laughing and chatting. After three rounds of drinking, the scholar gradually entered the drunken village. At this moment, the woman lightly opened her red lips and confided in Xu Yan, saying that although she had a deep affection for the scholar, her heart was distracted and she secretly hid a man in the dark, hoping to invite him to meet her while the scholar was sleeping. Upon hearing this, Xu Yan tacitly agreed to his actions.
The woman then spat out a young man, about twenty-three or four years old, handsome and dashing, who had a great conversation with Xu Yan. During the banquet, the man also revealed his secrets, saying that although he and the woman were in love, they also had ulterior motives and had other plans in private. After finishing speaking, the man also spat out a gentle woman from his mouth, about twenty years old. The four of them drank together, enjoying themselves happily. Until the scholar was about to wake up, the man quickly retracted the invitation to the woman to avoid revealing the secret.
The scholar woke up and apologized to Xu Yan, saying that taking a nap for too long had affected his solitary sitting. As dusk approached, he bid farewell to Xu Yan and collected all the women and bronze utensils he had previously vomited from. He only gave Xu Yan a beautiful large bronze plate with a diameter of over one foot as a souvenir and said, “Although we are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers after parting, I only wish that this friendship will always exist in our hearts
As time passed, by the time of Taiyuan, Xu Yan had already been appointed as the magistrate of Lantai. He gave this large copper plate, which carried memories of the past, to his colleague Zhang San, the attendant. Upon closer inspection of the engraved characters on the copper plate, Zhang San was amazed and concluded that it was a precious treasure made in the third year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Its historical value and artistic charm are both breathtaking.
