A Ningbo native opened a tailor shop in Beijing, where his exceptional craftsmanship and warm service made business flourish.
One day, several customers arrived at once, so he poured tea, offered them seats, and then took each person's measurements one by one.
After measuring a young customer, he asked, "What do you do, young sir?" The youth replied with pride, "I am a newly appointed provincial graduate!" After measuring an elderly customer, he asked, "What do you do, sir?" The old man replied dejectedly, "I am also a provincial graduate."
He then measured the other customers, asking each about their age, hobbies, temperament, and profession.
After the customer left, someone asked him, "Making clothes is just measuring, cutting, and stitching pieces of cloth together. Why do you ask all these questions? What does that have to do with making clothes?"
He chuckled and said, "Making clothes that satisfy people is all about getting the length, width, and fit right so they move comfortably. A young scholar who passes the imperial exams tends to be a bit proud, walking with his chest out and belly in—so his robe should be longer in the front and shorter in the back. An older scholar, due to his age, is often more subdued, stooping and hunching—so his robe should be shorter in the front and longer in the back. For a fat person, the waist needs to be looser; for a thin one, it can be narrower. An impatient person moves in a flurry, so his clothes might snag on things—make them shorter. A slow-moving person can have them longer..."
The man praised the tailor, saying, "You truly know how to cut the garment according to the figure
Source: *Lüyuan Conghua* by Qian Yong (Qing Dynasty)
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "量体裁衣" came to describe how a tailor should cut the garment according to the figure.