Story of "Dog Bites" Lü Dongbin “狗咬”吕洞宾

Before Lü Dongbin became an immortal, he was a scholar. He had a fellow townsman and close friend named Gou Yao. Gou Yao’s parents died when he was young, leaving him poor, but he was honest, kind, and extremely diligent. Lü Dongbin and Gou Yao were deeply bonded, so they swore brotherhood as sworn siblings. Lü Dongbin took Gou Yao into his home, ensuring he had food, clothing, and peace of mind to study hard, hoping he would one day make a name for himself.

One day, a guest visited Lü Dongbin’s home, and Gou Yao happened to be there. Impressed by Gou Yao’s handsome appearance and profound knowledge, the guest intended to betroth his younger sister to him.

Lü Dongbin, worried that Gou Yao might grow complacent after marriage, tried to decline. However, Gou Yao had long heard that the young lady was virtuous and beautiful, and he insisted on accepting the proposal. After thinking it over, Lü Dongbin agreed, saying to Gou Yao, "Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll do my best to make this happen. But I have one condition—after the wedding, I will stay with the bride for the first three nights."

Gou Yao was shocked; he never expected Lü Dongbin to say such a thing. But as a guest in Lü’s home, dependent on his generosity (and needing Lü’s help to cover wedding expenses), he reluctantly agreed.

On Gou Yao’s wedding day, Lü Dongbin bustled about cheerfully, while Gou Yao hid away. That night, after seeing off the guests, Lü Dongbin entered the bridal chamber. The bride, veiled in red, sat on the bed. Lü Dongbin did not lift her veil or speak; he simply sat by the lamp reading. By midnight, the bride could not stay awake and fell asleep fully dressed. When she woke at dawn, her "husband" was already gone. This repeated for three days.

Three days later, Gou Yao entered the bridal chamber to find the bride weeping. "Why did you spend three nights reading by the lamp instead of coming to bed?" she sobbed. Gou Yao was speechless. The bride looked up, even more astonished—this was a different man! Suddenly, Gou Yao realized: Lü Dongbin had feared he might neglect his studies for comfort, so he’d devised this plan to motivate him. He hurried to explain, and the bride, relieved, grew deeply respectful of Lü Dongbin.

A few years later, Gou Yao indeed passed the imperial exam with flying colors and became an official. He and his wife tearfully bid farewell to Lü Dongbin’s family before leaving for his post.

Eight years passed in a flash. One summer, Lü Dongbin’s home caught fire, reducing all his property to ashes. He and his family were forced to live in a thatched hut, struggling to get by. Desperate, Lü Dongbin went to seek help from Gou Yao.

Gou Yao sympathized with Lü Dongbin’s misfortune and entertained him warmly, but said nothing about offering assistance. Lü Dongbin stayed at Gou Yao’s mansion for months; though Gou Yao was kind, he gave no practical help. Finally, Lü Dongbin’s patience ran out. Angrily, he left without saying goodbye.

When Lü Dongbin returned home, he was shocked to see his thatched hut had been replaced by a large tiled house. Entering, he noticed white paper pasted on the door, a coffin in the courtyard, and his wife in mourning clothes, wailing bitterly. "Who passed away?" he wondered. He softly called, "Wife."

She turned, terrified, and stammered, "Are you... a human or a ghost?" Lü Dongbin was confused: "It’s me, Dongbin! I just got back—how could I be a ghost?" His wife, mustering courage to study him, realized it was truly him and wept with joy.

As it turned out, soon after Lü Dongbin left for Gou Yao’s home, Gou Yao had sent workers to rebuild Lü’s house. Two days earlier, a group of men had delivered a coffin, claiming Lü Dongbin had died at Gou Yao’s mansion. His wife fainted on hearing the news, and upon waking, grieved uncontrollably. That day, the family preparing for his funeral was stunned to see him return.

Lü Dongbin immediately understood—Gou Yao was behind everything. He grabbed an axe and split the coffin open. With a crash, gold and silver spilled out, along with a letter. It read:

Gou Yao is no ungrateful man,
I sent gold, silver, and built your house.
You made my wife keep an empty bed,
I made your wife weep till her heart broke.

Lü Dongbin chuckled bitterly: "I knew you wouldn’t be so heartless. But I never thought you’d trick me like this."

This is the story of Lü Dongbin and Gou Yao, and the origin of the saying "Gou Yao (sounds like ‘a dog bites’) Lü Dongbin—failing to recognize a kind heart." Over time, because "Gou Yao" sounds identical to "a dog bites" in Chinese, the phrase morphed into "A dog bites Lü Dongbin—failing to recognize a kind heart."