Yan Ying, courtesy name Pingzhong, also known as Yanzi, was a native of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period. He served as the Prime Minister for three successive dukes: Duke Ling, Duke Zhuang, and Duke Jing. He was respected by the people of Qi for his frugality and personal integrity. After Yan Ying's death, Confucius once praised him, saying, "He saved the common people without boasting, and assisted three rulers without claiming credit. Yanzi was truly a gentleman!" The extant "Yanzi Chunqiu" (Annals of Yanzi) was compiled in the Warring States period, collecting his sayings and deeds.

One day, when Yan Ying was the Prime Minister of Duke Jing, he went out, and his chariot happened to pass by the home of his chariot driver. The driver's wife secretly watched her husband from a crack in the door.

Her husband, who drove the Prime Minister's chariot, sat under a magnificent canopy, guiding the horses, looking proud and complacent, utterly pleased with himself. When the driver returned home, his wife asked to leave him, saying she no longer wished to return.

The driver asked why, and his wife replied, "Yanzi is less than six feet tall, yet he is the Prime Minister of Qi, renowned throughout the land, and respected by all feudal lords. Today, when I observed him, his thoughts were profound, and he often displayed a humble demeanor. You, on the other hand, are eight feet tall, yet you are merely someone's charioteer, and you are so full of yourself. This is why I want to leave you."

From that day on, after hearing his wife's words, the driver's attitude while driving gradually changed; he became humble and amiable in all aspects. Yanzi noticed the driver's transformation and, finding it strange, asked him for the reason.

The driver honestly recounted what had happened. Yan Ying praised him for his spirit of immediately correcting himself upon hearing counsel, considering him a worthy person to employ. Thus, he recommended him to become a high-ranking official of Qi.