In 257 BCE, King Zhao of Qin laid siege to the Zhao capital Handan with overwhelming force. The anxious King Xiaocheng of Zhao dispatched his brother, Lord Pingyuan, as an envoy to Chu, urging King Kaolie of Chu to form an alliance against Qin.
Lord Pingyuan immediately decided to select twenty of his most resourceful and courageous retainers to accompany him on the mission. After careful screening, he picked nineteen, but for the last spot, no suitable candidate could be found.
Just then, a retainer named Mao Sui walked straight up to Lord Pingyuan and recommended himself, saying, "I hear you're going to Chu to seek aid and need twenty attendants. You're still one short—I hope you'll let me, Mao Sui, fill the spot."
Pingyuan Jun found this man unfamiliar and asked, "Sir, how many years have you been in my service?" "It has been three years now."
"A worthy man in this world is like an awl placed in a bag — its sharp tip will immediately poke through. You've been here three years, and I've never heard anyone praise you, which shows you have no special skills. It seems you cannot come with me; you'd better stay."
Mao Sui, unconvinced, argued, "Today, I am precisely asking you to put me into the bag as an awl. If I had been placed in the bag earlier, not only would the tip have pierced through, but the entire awl would have stuck out like an ear of grain."
Lord Pingyuan found Mao Sui's argument convincing, and with time too short to select another, he agreed to let Mao Sui accompany him.
The other nineteen companions initially looked down on Mao Sui, secretly mocking him. Yet as conversations unfolded, they gradually realized he was an extraordinary figure and came to deeply admire him.
When Lord Pingyuan arrived in the state of Chu, he discussed forming an alliance against Qin with the King of Chu, but after much talk, the king still refused. Growing anxious, Lord Pingyuan’s attendants below the platform urged Mao Sui to go up and persuade the king himself.
Mao Sui felt it was his duty, so he pressed his sword and walked up the steps, saying to Lord Pingyuan, "The advantages and disadvantages of Chu and Zhao uniting against Qin are obvious—two sentences could clarify and solve the problem. Why have you been discussing from sunrise until noon without reaching a resolution?"
The King of Chu felt displeased and asked Lord Pingyuan, "Who is he?" "He is a retainer in my household."
King of Chu, hearing that Mao Sui was a man of low status, immediately shouted in anger:
“Why haven’t you withdrawn? I am speaking with your master—what are you doing up here?”
Mao Sui remained unmoved. Pressing his sword solemnly, he approached the King of Chu and declared loudly, "Your Majesty dares to scold me publicly only because Chu has a multitude of people. But now you and I are within ten steps of each other. Even if Chu's forces are mighty, you cannot rely on them, for your life is in my hands!"
Seeing the king frozen in shock, Mao Sui seized the moment and pressed on: "Chu is a great state, destined to lead the world. Yet before Qin, you tremble like a mouse! General Bai Qi of Qin once attacked Chu with a mere few thousand men—in one battle he took your capital, in the next he burned your ancestral tombs. Such a disgrace shames even us in Zhao, yet Your Majesty remains unmoved! In truth, an alliance between Chu and Zhao against Qin is not for Zhao's sake—it is for Chu's own good! The logic is clear as day, so why does Your Majesty rebuke my master so harshly?"
Mao Sui's speech finally convinced the King of Chu. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, what you say is indeed reasonable. I shall mobilize the entire nation's forces to ally with the State of Zhao and jointly resist the State of Qin!"
Shortly after the Chu-Zhao alliance was formed, the siege of Zhao was lifted with joint aid from Chu and Wei.
The idiom "Mao Sui Recommends Himself" comes from this history, meaning to volunteer or recommend oneself for a task.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biographies of Lord Pingyuan and Yu Qing"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "毛遂自荐" came to describe to volunteer or recommend oneself for a task.