during the southern and northern dynasties (420-589), there lived a beautiful, intel*t princess name lechang in the state chen. she and her hu*and xu deyan loved each other dearly. but before long their country was in *er of being invaded by the troops of the sui dynasty.
princess lechang and xu deyan had a premonition that their county would be occupied by the invaders1 and they would have to leave the palace and go into exile2. during the chaos3 they might lose touch with each other. they broke a bronze *ror, a symbol of the unity4 of hu*and and wife into two parts and each of them kept a half. they agreed that each would take their half of the *ror to the fair during the lantern festival, which is on the 15th day of the first lunar month, in the hope that would meet again. when they were united the two halves would join together. soon their premonition came true. during the chaos of war, the princess lost touch with her hu*and was taken to a powerful minister yang su's house and was made his mistress5.
at the lantern festival the next year, xu deyan took his half of the *ror to the fair. he hoped that he could meet his wife. it so happened that a servant was selling the other half of the bronze *ror. xu deyan recognized it immediately. he asked the servant about his wife. as he heard about her *tter experience, tears rolled down his cheeks. xu deyan wrote a poem on the half of the *ror kept by his wife: "you left me with your broken *ror now the *ror is back but not you i can no longer see your reflection in the *ror only the bright moon but not you" .
the servant brought back the inscribed6 half of the *ror to princess lechang. for days, she could not * sob*ng7 because she knew her hu*and was still alive and that he missed her but they could not meet for*r.
the minister, yang su, found this out. he was also moved by their true love and realized it was impossible to get lechang's love. so he sent for xu deyan and allowed the hu*and and wife to reunite.
from that story comes the idiom "a broken *ror joined together".
it is used to suggest the happy reunion of a separated couple.
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