One day, King Ling Gong of Qi had a sudden whim. He enjoyed seeing women dressed in men's clothing and ordered all the women in his harem to do the same. Soon, women across the entire state followed this fashion.
Seeing the whole country imitate this style, Ling Gong became angry. He commanded officials everywhere: "Whenever you see women dressed as men, tear their clothes and rip their waistbands."
However, this trend could not be stopped.
One day, when Prime Minister Yan Zi came for an audience, Ling Gong asked him: "I have ordered all officials to forbid women from wearing men's clothes. They are to tear the clothes and rip the waistbands of any they see, without exception. Yet the trend persists. What is the reason?"
Yan Zi replied: "Your Majesty, you allow the women in your harem to dress as men, yet forbid the common people from doing so. This is like hanging an ox head outside the door but selling horse meat inside. How can that work? If the women in your harem are forbidden to wear men's clothes, then who outside the palace would dare to continue?"
Ling Gong nodded repeatedly and said: "What you say is right! What you say is right!"
Ling Gong then ordered his officials to act according to Yan Zi's advice. Sure enough, in less than a month, the trend of women dressing as men throughout the state was stopped.