After the Eastern Han Dynasty fell, the land was split into three kingdoms: Wei, Shu, and Wu.
In the spring of the fifth year of Huangchu (224 AD), Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu, issued a decree to the realm:
"To protect our homeland, we have fought wars year after year, tearing young men from their homes and fields, leaving fathers and sons, husbands and wives unable to care for one another. For this, I feel deep sympathy. Now, the fires of war in the Central Plains have temporarily subsided, the northern tribes have vanished, and all borders are peaceful. We must seize this moment to reduce rents and interest rates and boost agricultural production."
During the Three Kingdoms period, Lu Xun, the Eastern Wu general, stationed his troops in Jingzhou. Facing a grain shortage, he ordered his soldiers to clear wasteland and plant crops.
When Sun Quan heard this news, he was greatly impressed and offered his praise.
Lu Xun then submitted a memorial, urging the Wu ruler to govern with benevolence and virtue while reducing harsh punishments; he also advised the ruler to listen more to words of loyalty and trust, including those from humble, low-ranking officials.
Sun Quan replied to Lu Xun, "The purpose of establishing laws is to curb evil and warn against future wrongdoing—how could there ever be a good thing where wicked men fear no punishment? You consider the penalties too harsh, but I truly have no choice. As for your advice to value loyal ministers' opinions, that is very reasonable. Moreover, the officials around me now offer proper remonstrances, and relatives and friends give beneficial counsel—this is precisely what makes me a wise and faithful ruler. If even a minor clerk has a worthy suggestion, how could I reject it simply because of his low status?"
Later, the idiom "rejecting words because of the speaker" came to describe opinions being dismissed due to the speaker's low status or other reasons.
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, "Biography of Sun Quan"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "以人废言" came to describe how opinions being dismissed due to the speaker's low status or other reasons.