Hand Talk Between Envoys
A Korean folktale, recorded in the Korean Oral Literature Compendium — Dobong District, Seoul

Long ago, in a time no one quite remembers, an envoy came from China to hold a contest of hand talk.

It was not a contest of spoken words, but of meaning passed silently, hand to hand. Notices went up everywhere, calling for anyone willing to answer the challenge.

The place chosen was the Yalu River. The Chinese envoy would stand on one bank, and whoever answered him would stand on the other.

But who would come forward? An ordinary man, who knew nothing of scholarly matters, stepped up and said,

"I will go."

The kingdom treated him with great care. They dressed him in fine clothes, set him on a horse, and sent him off toward the river.

On the way, he grew hungry. Beside the road he spotted a stall of freshly made rice cakes, and he could not simply walk past.

"I suppose I'll have to stop and eat a few before I go on."

He bought five of the diamond-shaped rice cakes and ate every one before reaching the riverbank.

At last, on the far side, the Chinese envoy raised his hand. He meant to ask: Do you understand the principles of heaven?

The man thought to himself,

That fellow must have eaten rice cakes too, before he came. But his were probably the round kind. Mine were the diamond-shaped ones — so I suppose I should hold my hand up like this.

He raised his hand to show the shape. The envoy, watching from across the river, was startled. He believed the man had answered perfectly — that heaven is round and earth is square, and this man somehow knew it. The envoy silently counted himself defeated in the first round.

Next, the envoy held up three fingers. He meant to ask about the Three Bonds, the moral principles of old.

The man thought again,

That fellow must have eaten three rice cakes. But I ate five.

He held up a clenched fist to show the number five. The envoy, seeing this, believed the man had gone even further — answering not just the Three Bonds, but the Five Relationships as well. Twice defeated now.

After losing two rounds, the envoy stroked his beard, meaning to invoke the name of an ancient god of summer.

The man watched and thought,

He must be pleased about his three rice cakes, stroking his beard like that. Well, my stomach is full, so I suppose I'll rub my belly.

He rubbed his belly slowly. The envoy, watching this, believed the man had gone on to name yet another legendary sage of the old world.

At last, the envoy shook his head and said to himself,

There's no point going on. I'll only keep losing.

And with that, he turned and went home.

And so, understanding nothing at all — guided only by a simple wish to fill his stomach — this ordinary man won a contest of great wisdom. It's said that when he returned, the kingdom granted him a title of honor.