A man of the state of Song was strolling along the road when he came across an abandoned title-deed. He took it home and hid it, and used to count the items/notches on the deed in secret.
“I am going to be rich,” he told a neighbour.
Allegorical Meaning
The Gap Between Fantasy and Reality：
The story satirizes those who mistake superficial symbols for real wealth. The man believes that possessing a deed — without understanding its actual validity or taking practical action — will bring him prosperity, highlighting the folly of relying on empty hopes rather than tangible efforts.
The Fallacy of Gaining Without Working：
By focusing on the deed’s notches instead of verifying its value or taking concrete steps to claim any potential assets, the man embodies the danger of chasing illusory gains. The moral emphasizes that true wealth requires action, not just the possession of symbolic objects.
Confusing Form with Substance：
The “notches” on the deed represent superficial markers of value, yet the man fails to recognize that they hold no real worth without the underlying rights or efforts to back them up. This critiques those who confuse external signs with actual substance.
Leave a Reply