管鲍之交 — “A profound and understanding friendship”

Once upon a time, in the State of Qi, there were two very close friends, one named Guan Zhong and the other Bao Shuya. When they were young, Guan Zhong's family was very poor, and he had to support his mother.

When Bao Shuya learned this, he invited Guan Zhong to invest in a business together. During their business ventures, since Guan Zhong had no money, almost all the capital was provided by Bao Shuya. However, when they made a profit, Guan Zhong took more than Bao Shuya. Bao Shuya's servant observed this and said, "This Guan Zhong is truly strange; he contributed less capital than our master but takes more profit!" Bao Shuya, however, told his servant, "You shouldn't say that! Guan Zhong's family is poor and he needs to support his mother, so it's perfectly fine for him to take a bit more."

Once, Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya went to battle together. Every time they attacked, Guan Zhong would hide at the very back. Everyone criticized Guan Zhong, saying, "Guan Zhong is a coward who fears death!" Bao Shuya immediately spoke up for him, "You've misunderstood Guan Zhong. He's not afraid of death; he needs to preserve his life to take care of his elderly mother!" Upon hearing this, Guan Zhong said, "My parents gave me life, but it is Bao Shuya who truly understands me!"

Later, the King of Qi died, and the eldest prince, Zhu, ascended the throne. Prince Zhu spent his days indulging in pleasures and neglected his duties. Bao Shuya foresaw that Qi would surely fall into internal strife, so he took the younger Prince Xiaobai and fled to the State of Ju. Guan Zhong, on the other hand, took Prince Jiu and fled to the State of Lu.

Soon after, Prince Zhu was assassinated, and Qi indeed plunged into internal chaos. Guan Zhong intended to kill Xiaobai to ensure Jiu could ascend the throne smoothly. Unfortunately, when Guan Zhong attempted to assassinate Xiaobai, his arrow missed, and Xiaobai survived. Later, Bao Shuya and Xiaobai returned to Qi earlier than Guan Zhong and Jiu, and Xiaobai became the King of Qi.

After Xiaobai became king, he decided to appoint Bao Shuya as his prime minister. However, Bao Shuya told Xiaobai, "Guan Zhong is superior to me in all aspects; you should invite him to be the prime minister instead!" Xiaobai was astonished, "Guan Zhong tried to kill me; he is my enemy! How can you ask me to appoint him as prime minister?" Bao Shuya replied, "You cannot blame him. He did that only to help his master, Jiu!" Xiaobai listened to Bao Shuya's advice, invited Guan Zhong back to serve as prime minister, and Guan Zhong indeed helped Xiaobai govern the State of Qi exceptionally well!

Since then, whenever people praise a deep friendship between friends, they refer to it as "Guan Bao Zhi Jiao".