During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the powerful Grand Marshal and General-in-Chief Huo Guang was the half-brother of the famed Western Han general Huo Qubing. After Emperor Wu's death, Huo Guang followed the imperial edict to assist the young Emperor Zhao. When Emperor Zhao died, he installed Liu He as emperor, only to depose him shortly after and welcome Emperor Xuan to the throne, even marrying his youngest daughter to the new emperor as empress. The Huo family monopolized the court's power, reaching the pinnacle of influence and glory.
A man named Xu Fu repeatedly submitted memorials to Emperor Xuan of Han, urging him to curb the power of the general Huo Guang, warning, "If you don't act, the Huo family will eventually rebel." But the emperor ignored every warning.
Three years after Huo Guang's death, his family indeed plotted rebellion. Fortunately, someone reported the conspiracy, and Emperor Xuan of Han took decisive action in time, executing the entire Huo clan before the plot could escalate into a major disaster.
Afterwards, Emperor Xuan lavishly rewarded those who had reported Huo Guang's misconduct, yet gave nothing to Xu Fu, who had long advised him to take necessary measures against Huo Guang. A minister, feeling this was unjust, submitted a memorial to the emperor, stating, "Your Majesty, Xu Fu foresaw the danger and warned you early, while others only spoke after the fact. Rewarding the latecomers while ignoring the one who saw it first is like praising those who put out a fire but forgetting the one who built the firebreak."
In his memorial, the minister first told a story:
A man visiting a friend's home noticed the kitchen setup and warned, "Your chimney is straight and firewood piled too close—this is dangerous. You should bend the chimney and move the wood farther away, or a fire may break out!" The host nodded but took no action. Soon after, a fire indeed started, and neighbors rushed to help extinguish it. Grateful, the host slaughtered a cow and hosted a feast to thank those who aided him, but he never invited the friend who had first warned him. Someone remarked, "If you had listened to that advice earlier, you wouldn't have needed to spend so much on this feast today." The host, embarrassed, finally invited the friend. This story reminds us that preventing trouble is wiser than celebrating after the fact.
The host found the guest's words inauspicious, disagreed, and remained silent in response.
Soon after, the homeowner’s house indeed caught fire. Fortunately, neighbors rushed over in time to extinguish the blaze, preventing greater damage.
Afterward, the host slaughtered a cow and bought wine to prepare a feast thanking the neighbors who helped put out the fire. He seated those scorched and blackened from the flames at the head of the table, while the rest were arranged according to their efforts. Yet despite inviting so many, he never once invited the friend who had advised him to rebuild the chimney and move the firewood.
During the feast, a guest remarked to the host, "If you had heeded your friend's advice to bend the chimney and move the firewood away, there would have been no fire, and no need to kill a cow and buy wine to thank the neighbors who helped put it out. Yet now, as you reward your guests for their efforts, you have forgotten that very friend. Isn't this a case of 'the one who suggested bending the chimney and moving the firewood receives no gratitude, while those with scorched foreheads and singed heads are treated as honored guests'?"
The phrase "qu" means "bent," "tu" refers to a chimney, "xi" means to move or relocate, and "xin" means firewood. Together, the saying criticizes the unfairness: the man who advised the homeowner to replace the straight chimney with a bent one and move the firewood away received no reward, while those who were burned and battered fighting the fire were treated as honored guests.
Hearing this, the host suddenly realized his mistake and immediately invited that friend back, treating him as an honored guest.
Emperor Xuan, reading the memorial, suddenly understood why the official had begun his petition with that very story. Without hesitation, he rewarded Xu Fu with ten bolts of silk and promoted him on the spot.
Later, people derived the idiom "Qu Tu Xi Xin" from this, meaning that to prevent possible accidents, one should take precautions in advance and eliminate the factors that cause them—essentially, to nip trouble in the bud.
Source: *Book of Han*, "Biography of Huo Guang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "曲突徙薪" came to describe how to prevent possible accidents, one should take precautions in advance and eliminate the factors that cause them—essentially, to nip trouble in the bud.