In history, there are not very many records about the fou, among which the most famous one is recorded in "
Historical Records: The Biography of Lian Po Lin Xiangru".
In 279 BC, the King of Qin sent messengers to ask King Zhao to meet in Mianchi (now Mianchi County, Henan). The name was to promote friendship between the two countries. In fact, he wanted to hold King Zhao. King Zhao knew that King Qin had many tricks and was worried that Qin would not go there because of plots. , but the counselor Lin Xiangru and the general Lian Po considered again and again, but advocated that the king of Zhao should go to the meeting. King Zhao thought that the two ministers were right, and decided to go to Mianchi to meet the King of Qin, and ordered Lin Xiangru to accompany him.
At the banquet, the King of Qin was domineering and pretended to be drunk. He teased King Zhao and said, "I heard that King Zhao is good at playing the ser (an ancient stringed instrument). Today's grand event, please play a piece of music for King Zhao." King Zhao didn't dare to refuse, and reluctantly played a song. Unexpectedly, the king of Zhao was caught in the trap, and the historian of Qin State quickly recorded the incident: "On a certain day in a certain year, the king of Qin and the king of Zhao were drinking, and the king of Qin ordered the king of Zhao to sing." When Lin Xiangru saw this, he was very angry, and he stepped forward and said to the King of Qin, "King Zhao heard that King Qin is very good at kicking fou, and today's grand event, I also ask the king to kick fou to help." The king of Qin refused, sternly refused.
Lin Xiangru invited each other again and said, "If the king must not obey, within these five steps, I am willing to splash the king with blood from the neck." The king of Qin immediately drew his sword from the left and right, and wanted to kill Lin Xiangru. Lin Xiangru did not change his face, and shouted loudly, everyone was stunned, and the air was extremely tense. In order to relieve the immediate crisis, the King of Qin had no choice but to knock on the fu. Lin Xiangru immediately ordered the historian of Zhao State to record it, saying: "On a certain day in a certain year, the King of Qin struck a fou for the King of Zhao."
The Fu that the King of Qin struck here is the Fu in the word kiln, which is an ancient pottery used to hold wine. It was used as a musical instrument during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Regarding this story, the original text described in "Historical Records: The Biography of Lian Po Lin Xiangru" is as follows:
The King of Qin was drinking, and said: "The few people have heard the good news of King Zhao, please play the sermon." "Lin Xiangru said before: "The King of Zhao secretly heard that the King of Qin is good at Qin Sheng, and please serve the King of Qin with a pot to entertain him." The King of Qin was angry and refused. So Xiangru advanced to the fou, but because he knelt down to invite the king of Qin, the king of Qin refused to hit the fou. Xiangru said: "Within five steps, Xiangru, please be able to splatter the blood from your neck, Your Majesty." Xiangru wanted to wield swords on the left and right, and Xiangru opened his eyes to scold him, and both left and right were distracted. So the King of Qin did not hesitate and gave a fou for a blow; Xiangru Gu called Zhao's imperial history book and said: "In a certain year, month and day, the King of Qin struck the fou for the King of Zhao."