In China, when you refuse someone, he or she might be described as "吃闭门羹" ("eating a bowl of door-closing thick soup"). What is the story b this saying?
It is said that during the Tang Dynasty (618– 907), there lived a beautiful woman cShi Feng. Many young men wanted to m her. But Shi was hard to c. She asked her admirers(倾慕者) to show her poems that they had written. She did this to see i they were talented(有天赋的). If Shi liked someone's poems, she would a to meet him. If she didn't, she wouldn't meet them. But then, to be p, she would at least give them a bowl of geng (羹) to eat. Geng is a type of thick s. It is usually made with grain, fruit or vegetables.
As time passed, "eating a bowl of thick soup" came to mean "being refused". The dish was also nicknamed "door-closing thick soup", since Shi would not open her door for people who r the dish.
But there is a twist (意外转折) to this story. "Door-closing thick soup" was said to be so tasty that more people started coming to Shi's door – not to marry her, but to have a tof the soup!
