King Huiwen of Zhao came into possession of a rare jade disc, known as the He family jade, discovered centuries earlier by the man Bian He during the Spring and Autumn period. When King Zhao of Qin learned of this treasure, he schemed to seize it by force, writing a deceptive letter to the Zhao ruler, offering fifteen cities in exchange for the jade.
The King of Zhao feared the King of Qin was deceiving him and did not want to send the He family jade, but he also dreaded a military invasion. After consulting his ministers for a long time with no resolution, he lamented, "We cannot even find an envoy quick-witted enough to negotiate with Qin."
Just then, someone recommended Lin Xiangru to the King of Zhao, praising his courage and resourcefulness as a suitable envoy. The King summoned him immediately and first asked whether he should agree to the King of Qin's demand to exchange the He family jade for fifteen cities. Lin Xiangru replied:
"The state of Qin is strong, while our state of Zhao is weak—we cannot refuse this request." "But if the King of Qin obtains the He family jade and still refuses to give us the fifteen cities, what then?"
"The King of Qin has already made a vow. If Zhao refuses, Zhao will be in the wrong; but if Zhao sends the jade to the King of Qin and he refuses to hand over the cities, then the King of Qin is the one at fault. Comparing the two, it is better to agree to the King of Qin's demand and let him bear the blame for being unreasonable."
Thus, Lin Xiangru set out for the State of Qin bearing the He family jade. When the King of Qin learned of his arrival, he did not receive him with proper court etiquette but instead summoned Lin Xiangru arrogantly in a temporary palace chamber. The king took the jade, examined it with great delight, and passed it around to his ministers and concubines for their viewing.
Seeing the King of Qin so contemptuous and rude, Lin Xiangru was already furious; now seeing him merely pass the He family jade around with no intention of handing over the cities, he stepped forward and said:
“There is a small flaw on this jade. Please allow me to point it out to Your Majesty.”
After receiving the jade, Lin Xiangru immediately stepped back several paces, stood close to a pillar, and, in extreme fury with his hair bristling up under his cap, said passionately:
After consulting with his ministers, the King of Zhao concluded that the Qin state was insatiably greedy and sought to trick them into handing over the He family jade with empty promises, so they initially refused to send it. Lin Xiangru explained, 'I advised them otherwise, and after five days of purification, the king sent me here. Yet upon my arrival, Your Majesty did not receive me in court but passed the jade to your concubines for amusement, openly mocking me. That is why I retrieved it. If you try to force me, I would rather dash my head and the jade to pieces against this pillar!'
Under these circumstances, the King of Qin had no choice but to apologize and agree to fast for five days before receiving the jade. However, Lin Xiangru anticipated that the king would not cede the cities, so he secretly had someone return the jade to the State of Zhao. When the King of Qin learned of this, he was left with no recourse and could only follow protocol by sending Lin Xiangru back to Zhao with due ceremony.
Later, the idiom "hair standing on end in anger" came to describe extreme fury.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "怒发冲冠" came to describe extreme fury.