舍本逐末 — “Abandon the root and pursue the tip/branches”

During the Warring States period, envoys frequently traveled between various vassal states. One day, the King of Qi sent an envoy to the State of Zhao to greet Queen Dowager Zhao Wei. The envoy from Qi had never been to Zhao nor met Queen Dowager Zhao Wei. However, he had long heard that she was a very virtuous queen, so he gladly accepted the assignment. He thought, as an envoy from Qi, the Queen Dowager would surely be pleased to receive his greetings. If she was pleased, she might even bestow some valuable small gifts. Therefore, he felt this mission to Zhao was a rare and excellent task.

The envoy traveled day and night, without stopping, finally arriving at Handan, the capital of Zhao. In the envoy's imagination, Handan was beautiful: dressing towers with carved beams and painted pillars, the clear and translucent eyebrow-washing pond, the bustling market bridge, and the magnificent Congtai... He had heard about them many times but had never seen them. Therefore, along the way, he planned that after completing his official duties, he would definitely explore Handan to his heart's content.

Upon arriving in Handan, he went directly to the Zhao palace to greet Queen Dowager Zhao Wei. Queen Dowager Zhao Wei indeed lived up to her virtuous reputation. When the envoy from Qi was led into the inner palace by a beautiful palace maid, Queen Dowager Zhao Wei was already seated on an embroidered stool, waiting. She exuded solemn dignity and a benevolent expression.

After paying respects, the envoy from Qi presented the personal letter from the King of Qi to Queen Dowager Zhao Wei. However, for some reason, Queen Dowager Zhao Wei did not open and read the King of Qi's letter first. Instead, she bowed and asked the envoy from Qi, "Is your Qi state's harvest good this year?" "Good," replied the envoy from Qi. Queen Dowager Zhao Wei then asked, "Are the common people doing well?" "Good," replied the envoy from Qi. Queen Dowager Zhao Wei asked again, "Is the King of Qi also doing well?" "Also very well," replied the envoy from Qi.

After answering the questions, the envoy from Qi felt very uneasy. He was a straightforward person, and what he thought, he asked directly: "Respected Queen Dowager, I am here on behalf of our Great King to extend greetings to you. Logically, if you were to ask questions in return, you should first inquire about our Great King. But you first asked about the harvest and the common people. How can you place the humble before the noble?"

Queen Dowager Zhao Wei smiled and said, "You cannot say that. I have my reasons for asking about the harvest and the common people first, and only then about your King." The envoy from Qi puzzledly asked, "What reasons?" Queen Dowager Zhao Wei said, "Think about it: if there were no good harvests, how would the common people survive? If there were no common people, where would there be a great king? Therefore, asking this way is reasonable; not asking this way would be neglecting the fundamental for the trivial. Don't you agree?"

"This..." The envoy from Qi was speechless. As soon as the audience concluded, the envoy from Qi no longer had any desire to tour the beautiful sights of Handan and returned directly to Qi.

On his way back to Qi, the envoy from Qi felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. Although Queen Dowager Zhao Wei had not bestowed any gifts upon him, he did not feel he was returning empty-handed. He felt that Queen Dowager Zhao Wei's few questions about 'neglecting the fundamental for the trivial' were more precious than any gift.