The Story Behind:

        In ancient China, there was an old man who lived in the northern border and was known as Saiweng. He was known for his excellence in raising horses. He owned a ranch and lived a happy life with his family.

        One day, one of his horses ran away. Some of his neighbors came and expressed their sympathy over his loss, only to find out he wasn't unhappy as expected. He merely said, "Maybe it's not a bad thing," leaving his visitors confused.

       To everyone's surprise, the missing horse came back ?with another strong horse. Considering it a good sign, his neighbors came and congratulated him on the windfall. Saiweng interpreted it in a different way and expressed his concern by saying, " I doubt if there is such a thing as a free lunch."

        One of Saiweng's sons loved riding horses, especially the new one. One day something unfortunate befell him when he went out riding it ?he fell off the horse and broke his legs. Upon hearing the sad news, some of his neighbors came and tried to soothe him, only to find out again that he viewed it differently. To their confusion, he calmly said, "It might be a good thing that he broke his legs."

       A few years later, the barbarians invaded the northern border. Able-bodied young men were drafted into the army while Saiweng's son was waived because of his injury.

       Saiweng's story does hit home the meaning of the expression: Don't take things at face value ?wait and see what the future holds. A bad thing may turn out to be a stroke of good luck, and vice versa. It's all too easy for one to pity himself/herself and feel desperate in the face of hardship and feel happy when one is favored by luck. Yet as is suggested in the moral of this story, it is wise not to jump to conclusions and not to be affected by the immediate circumstances.

         Saiweng was not his real name ?each of the two Chinese characters has meanings. Saiweng derived his name from where his lived and possibly his old age. In China, the borders were called 邊塞 (biansai, literally translated: frontier fortress), in which the second character became the initial part of his name. The second character of his name, 翁 (weng), was the suffix added to one's family name to show respect for the person due to his wealth, social status, or old age. In this case, the addition of this suffix is attributable to his old age, which is synonymous with wisdom in China.