Eight Gusts of Wind
Su Dongpo 苏 东坡 sū dōng pō composed a poem for his friend Fu Yin 佛印fú yìn who lived across the river. The poem had words like these:
八风吹不动
bā fēng chuī bu dong
Translated, it means:
"Eight strong gusts of wind cannot even move me."
The poem was a boast by the poet to his friend and adversary. It conveyed the meaning that Su Dongpo 苏 东坡 sū dōng pō was a steady person who could not be easily moved. The poet then instructed his assistant to cross the river to deliver the poem (which was written on a scroll) to Fu Yin 佛印fú yìn.
When Fu Yin 佛印fú yìn read the message, he added a character to it and requested the assistant to return the scroll to Su Dongpo 苏 东坡 sū dōng pō.
Upon receipt, Su Dongpo 苏 东坡 sū dōng pō opened the scroll and found the character "屁" pì (flatulence) scribbled on it. That made Su Dongpo 苏 东坡 sū dōng pō mad. Without hesitation, he demanded his assistant to go across the river with him to confront Fu Yin 佛印fú yìn.
However, Fu Yin 佛印fú yìn was not in his house.
On the wall outside the house was a modified line of Su Dongpo 苏 东坡 sū dōng pō's poem. It read
八 风吹不动, 一屁打过 江
bā fēng chuī bu dong，yī pì dǎ guò jiāng
(Translation: Eight gusts of wind cannot move me, a "burst of wind from the bowels" made me cross a river.)
Story contributed by: 方胜 fāng shèng
