Jokes of ancient literati

There was an academician named Feng Fang in the Ming Dynasty, who was very literary. On one occasion, Ningbo county magistrate sent his men down to ask him for a prescription. He immediately wrote in the prescription: "The seeds of the big maple tree have been denuded (people), and more than half of the fruits of the ground flowers are used, and the skin of the ground bones can be used for three purposes, and the gentleman (history) can add one." The magistrate looked at the prescription and said with a smile, "Feng Hanlin is laughing at you!"

When the official asked the reason, the county magistrate explained that the word "one" was used to remove people, half of the fruit was "rigid", three bones were "slippery" and one was "official". These four drugs are connected into four words, that is, "a group of slippery officials" (that is, a group of slippery officials).