During the Spring and Autumn period, King Ling of Chu was a debauched ruler who cared only for pleasure, not governance. To indulge himself, he drained the treasury to build the lavish Zhanghua Palace, bringing endless suffering to his people.
The imperial advisor Zi Zhang was deeply troubled. He knew King Ling of Chu was stubborn and deaf to advice, yet he still earnestly urged him to curb his excesses and govern the state properly.
King Ling of Chu greatly disliked Zizhang. Once, he said to a flattering minister, "Zizhang is always nagging me about this and that. Do you have any way to make him stop his endless chatter?"
The minister replied, "Your Majesty can tell Zizhang, 'I often deal with spirits and gods, and have heard enough admonitions; I do not wish to hear any more words!'"
Soon after, Zizhang admonished King Ling again. The king repeated what the minister had taught him. Zizhang said indignantly, "Wuding of the Shang Dynasty was a wise ruler, yet he still sought talent and welcomed advice everywhere. Your Majesty's virtue cannot compare to Wuding's, yet you detest others' remonstrance so much—this is truly disappointing!"
King Ling had no way to refute Zizhang and said helplessly, "Fine! Then continue your remonstrations. Though I do not wish to follow them, I am still willing to keep them in my ears."
Zizhang listened and said with a bitter smile, "I advised Your Majesty hoping you would accept my counsel. Otherwise, the rhinoceros horns and ivory from Ba Pu are plentiful, and Your Majesty could easily use them to plug your ears—why use my words of remonstrance instead?"
Realizing that King Ling would never heed his advice, Zizhang left the court. From then on, the king heard no more loyal counsel, and within a few years, his half-brother Gongzi Bi overthrew him, leaving him to meet a tragic end by hanging himself.
Later, the idiom "Taking Admonitions as Earplugs" came to mean willfully turning a deaf ear to advice.
Source: *Guoyu*, "Discourses of Chu"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "以规为瑱" came to describe willfully turning a deaf ear to advice.