Chang Kuo Lao was orphaned at an early age. He lived as a hermit in the mountains in Shanxi and supported himself by collecting and selling wood. But he could not afford boots, and his feet were cut on the rocky ground again and again. So the clever child fashioned sandals from the discarded straw that he found in harvested fields. Every night, for weeks, he labored to perfect his technique. Eventually, he could weave sturdy sandals that lasted for months and cost nothing. He made the sandals for anyone who asked and developed the secret of making full-sized shoes, even boots, from straw.

Many years later, a traveling merchant offered the elderly Chang a salary to share his secrets and make sandals and shoes for sale. Chang Kuo Lao refused. The merchant offered higher and higher commissions, but each time Chang refused. Finally the merchant beat and mortally wounded the old man.

As his physical body slowly expired, Chang Kuo Lao called to one of the young men of the village. Chang offered to teach the young man how to make the straw sandals and shoes, so that his secret would be the property and right of the poor people for all time. The young man willingly agreed and began to follow the instructions Chang Kuo Lao delivered from his deathbed.

The young man learned well and fast but unfortunately not fast enough. He could make the sandals, but he never learned how to make the shoes. That is why the poor people of Shanxi Province wear straw sandals but cannot make straw shoes.