When Mencius arrived in the state of Qi, King Xuan of Qi, aware of his reputation, summoned him for an audience.
Mencius wanted to persuade King Xuan of Qi to practice benevolent governance and rule the state well, but fearing that speaking too bluntly might anger the king, he approached the matter indirectly:
"Your Majesty, if one of your ministers, while traveling to Chu for study, entrusted his wife and children to a friend's care, but upon returning years later found them cold and starving, how should he treat that friend?"
King Xuan replied, "I would rebuke him harshly and then sever ties with him!" Mencius pressed further, "If the chief justice cannot manage his subordinates, what should be done?" King Xuan answered without hesitation, "Remove him from office!" Mencius then turned to the core issue and asked, "Then if a ruler fails to govern the state well, what should be done?"
King Xuan of Qi realized Mencius was criticizing his governance, so he avoided the topic by looking around and changing the subject.
Later, the idiom "to look left and talk right" came to describe deliberately avoiding a question by changing the subject.
Source: *Mencius*, Chapter "King Hui of Liang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "顾左右而言他" came to describe how deliberately avoiding a question by changing the subject.