One day, a man named He Shi of the State of Chu got a piece of uncarved jade in a hill. He quickly went to present it to King Li of the State of Chu. King Li asked a jade craftsman to appraise it. The jade craftsman said:

　　一天，有個名叫“和氏”的楚國人，在一座山里得到一塊沒有雕琢過的玉石，連忙拿去獻給楚厲王。厲王叫玉匠鑒定，玉匠說：

　　"This is a piece of ordinary stone."

　　“這是一塊普通的石頭。”

　　King Li believed that He Shi had deceived him and felt very angry. He had He Shi's left foot cut off.

　　厲王認為和氏欺騙了他，非常氣憤，就砍掉了和氏的左腳。

　　After King Li died, King Wu became the king. Again He Shi took this piece of jade to present it to King Wu. King Wu asked a jade craftsman to appraise it. The jade craftsman also said:

　　厲王死后，武王當了國王。和氏又拿著這塊玉石去獻給武王。武王叫玉匠鑒定，玉匠說：

　　"This is a piece of ordinary stone."

　　“這是一塊普通的石頭。”

　　King Wu believed that He Shi had deceived him and had He Shi's right foot cut off.

　　武王認為和氏欺騙了他，就砍掉了他的右腳。

　　After King Wu died, King Wen succeeded to the throne. He Shi sat at the foot of the hill, held the piece of jade in his hands and wept. He wept for three days and three nights until his tears dried up and his eyes bled. When King Wen heard of this, he sent someone to ask He Shi:

　　武王死后，文王當了國王。和氏抱著那塊玉石，坐在那座山的山腳下哭泣，一連哭了三天三夜，哭干了眼淚，連血都哭出來了。文王聽說后，就派人去問和氏：

　　"Many people in the world have had their feet cut off. Why do you weep so broken-heartedly?"

　　“天下被砍去腳的人很多，你為什么哭得這樣傷心呢？”

　　He Shi answered:

　　和氏回答說：

　　"I am not weeping for losing both my feet. I am broken-hearted because the King takes the jade for a piece of stone, and my loyalty for deceit."

　　“我不是因為失去雙腳而哭泣，而是因為國王把寶石當做石頭，把忠誠說成欺騙，所以才這樣傷心。”

　　After King Wen heard this, he sent for a jade craftsman and ordered him to chisel open the jade. Sure enough it was a piece of genuine jade. Thus King Wen of Chu named it "He Shi Jade".

　　文王聽了和氏的話后，就派人把玉匠找來，命令玉匠把玉石鑿開，一看果然是一塊真的玉石。楚文王就把這塊玉石命名為“和氏璧”。