Ji An, a native of Puyang, was known for his unwavering integrity and blunt demeanor
When a man named Zhang Tang was appointed Tingwei for revising the criminal code, Ji An repeatedly confronted him before the emperor, declaring, "You are a high minister, yet you have failed to honor the late emperor's achievements or curb the people's wickedness. You have not brought stability to the state or emptied the prisons. Instead, you make your career by trapping the innocent and twisting the law, even altering the statutes set by Emperor Gaozu. For this, you will be left without descendants."
Ji An frequently debated Zhang Tang in court. Zhang Tang was eloquent, always delving deep into legal clauses and obsessing over minor details. Ji An, by contrast, was blunt and stern, speaking in grand terms but unable to sway Zhang Tang. Furious at this, Ji An exploded and berated Zhang Tang, saying, "People say that petty scribes should never be made high ministers—and now I see why. If we follow your methods, the whole world will be forced to stand on tiptoe and glare sideways in fear."
Later, Zhang Tang's power grew as he rose to Imperial Secretary, while Ji An was sent out as the Governor of Huaiyang Commandery. Before departing, Ji An visited Li Xi, the Prefect of the Grand Messenger, and warned, "Zhang Tang rejects criticism, caters solely to the emperor, manipulates legal statutes, and has the face of a harsh official. If you do not report him to the throne soon, you will be executed alongside him." Li Xi, fearing Zhang Tang, never dared to speak out. In the end, Zhang Tang indeed fell from grace, and when the emperor learned of Ji An's words to Li Xi, he sentenced Li Xi for failing to remonstrate, while Ji An was rewarded with the salary of a feudal prince's chancellor.
"The idiom 'standing with feet together' describes a state of extreme fear or being too intimidated to speak out."
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biographies of Ji An and Zheng Dangshi"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "重足而立" came to describe how a state of extreme fear or being too intimidated to speak out.