In the Song Dynasty, there was a man named Yang Shi. He was extremely intelligent and eager to learn, and he held his teachers in great respect. In order to achieve a higher level in academic pursuits, he traveled around to seek out famous teachers. Eventually, he took the two brothers, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, as his teachers.
When Yang Shi was studying under Cheng Hao, he had already shown remarkable performance. However, later Cheng Hao passed away. Yang Shi felt that there were still a great many things he hadn't learned, so he took Cheng Yi as his teacher and continued his studies.
One day, Yang Shi and his friend You Zuo went to visit Teacher Cheng Yi together. When they arrived at the doorstep of Teacher Cheng Yi's house, they found that Teacher Cheng Yi was meditating and resting inside the house. Yang Shi and You Zuo couldn't bear to disturb the teacher's rest, so they quietly stood outside the door and waited patiently.
The weather at that time was extremely cold, and it was snowing heavily. Snowflakes were falling in profusion, landing on their heads and bodies, and soon a thick layer had accumulated. But Yang Shi and You Zuo just stood there motionless like two snowmen.
After a long time, Teacher Cheng Yi finally woke up. When he pushed open the window and saw Yang Shi and You Zuo standing outside the door, they had already turned into two "snowmen" with snow all over their bodies. Teacher Cheng Yi was deeply touched by their spirit of respecting the teacher and the teachings.
Since then, Yang Shi's spirit of respecting the teacher has been widely praised among people. The story of "Standing in the Snow before Cheng's Gate" has also become a model of respecting teachers and education, and has been passed down until today, educating generation after generation to respect their teachers and study hard.
