Tian jiu, a Mohist, wanted to express his general plan for governing the country to King Hui of the state of Qin. He had stayed in state Qin for three years, but had not gotten an opportunity to meet the king.

Someone told this to the king of the state of Chu, and the king of Chu called in him. The king of Chu thought very highly of Tian Jiu's talents, and he appointed Tian jiu as the emissary to the state of Qin. With the new status, he met the king of Qin very soon.

Out of the palace of Qin, Tian Jiui sighed and said to himself, "I didn't expect that in order to get access to the king of Qin, I would have gone to state Chu sirst."

墨家的田鸠想向秦惠王阐述自己的治国方略，在秦国呆了三年，一直没有见到秦惠王的机会。

有人把这件事情告诉了楚王，楚王于是召见了田鸠。楚王对田鸠的才识很欣赏，于是派田鸠做楚国的使者出使秦国。田鸠再次回到秦国，以楚国使者的身份很快就见到了秦惠王。

从宫里出来后，田鸠感慨不已地说：“想不到谒见秦王的途径，竟然是先要到楚国去走一趟。”