During the Warring States period, Zou Ji, a high-ranking official in the State of Qi, was eight feet tall and remarkably handsome. Dressed in splendid attire, he asked his wife if he or Xu Gong, a famously handsome man from the northern part of the city, was more beautiful.

Both his wife and concubine assured him that he was the most beautiful. The following day, he posed the same question to a guest, who also echoed their sentiment.

However, when Xu Gong himself arrived, Zou Ji looked at his own reflection in the mirror and felt utterly ashamed of his inferiority.