唐朝時有位作家沈既濟，
寫了篇小說《枕中記》，
書中說古時邯鄲的旅店裏，
有個盧姓書生在歎息。
姓呂的道士聽到後，
請盧生把歎息的緣故說仔細。
盧生說窮困潦倒無前途，
並非是男兒丈夫短誌氣。
道士說我有個枕頭很神奇，
枕上它眨眼便入美夢裏。
人世間榮華富貴皆可見，
若不信不妨來試試。
這時候店主人正煮黃米飯，
那盧生枕上奇枕鼾聲起。
果然夢見自己做了大官享富貴，
得到的榮華富貴王侯將相也難比。
等到他榮華富貴都享夠，
醒來時黃米飯未熟正在冒熱氣。
人們把虛幻的夢想難實現，
常以“黃粱一夢”成語比。
A Daydream Over a Pot of Millet
During the reign of the Tang Dynasty（618—907A。D。），there was a writer named Shen Jiji，who wrote a story entitled“A story of the Pillow”。It was said that in ancient times in one hotel in the city of Handan，a scholar by the name of Lu was sighing，and a Daoist by the name of Lü heard him and asked him what the problem was。Scholar Lu said that he was downcast poor and had no future，though he had cherished high aspirations。The Daoist said that he had a very magical pillow，that could prompt any one into a wonderland-all fortunes and wealth on earth could be found。He could just have a try if he didn't believe it。
Meanwhile，the host of the hotel was cooking millet in a pot and Scholar Lu immediately fell asleep。True enough，he dreamed that he was appointed se-nior official and lived a happy life，which was no less superior than a Marquis。After he had all this to his heart's content，he woke and saw millet still steaming，not yet cooked。
When people think something is only a fancy never to be realized，they say that it is only“a Daydream Over a Pot of Millet”。