A poor scholar one day met an old friend who had become an immortal.
After hearing his friend complain of his poverty, the immortal pointed his finger at a brick by the roadside, which immediately turned into a gold ingot. He presented it to his friend. When the poor scholar was not satisfied with this, the immortal turned a big lion statue into gold. But the man was still not appeased.
”What more do you want?” asked his immortal friend.
“I want your finger!” was the reply.
Allegorical Meaning
The story exposes the self-defeating nature of insatiable greed and the folly of prioritizing the source of wealth over tangible benefits.
The Staircase of Greed:
- The poor scholar’s dissatisfaction escalates rapidly: first rejecting a gold brick (life-changing wealth), then a golden lion statue (extravagant riches).
- His ultimate demand (“your fingertip”) reveals greed’s core impulse: control over perpetual wealth generation trumps any finite gift. He desires not sustenance or security, but absolute, limitless power.
Irony of Rejection:
- The scholar spurns transformative gains (gold brick) for exponentially larger potential (lion), then discards both for ultimate control. This highlights how greed blinds one to present fortune and renders all concrete gains “insufficient.”
- The alchemist’s gifts, initially acts of generosity, become futile against bottomless avarice.
Symbolism of the Finger:
- The finger represents the means of production/wealth creation (skill, magic, capital, opportunity).
- Demanding the finger signifies a dangerous shift: obsession with owning the source rather than wisely utilizing its output.
Satire on Human Nature:
- Feng Menglong mocks the delusion of perpetual gain without effort or wisdom.
- It critiques the failure to recognize “enough.” The scholar loses everything by refusing incremental abundance in pursuit of the absolute.
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