The parable came from the Confucian Analects， which is the collection of sayings and deeds attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius and his disciples written by Confucius followers.

During the Spring and Autumn Period， Duanmu Ci， a native of the State of Wei and one of the most important and loyal disciples of Confucius with the courtesy name of Zigong， served as a high official in several states， including the State of Lu and the State of Wei.

One Day， Shusun Wushu， a senior official of the State of Lu， highly appraised Zigong in the imperial court， saying his talent was better than Confucius. Later， Zifu Jingbo， Shu- suns fellow official， told it to Zigong.

“Taking the wall of a house as a metaphor， the wall of my house is just as high as my shoulders， so that others can easily see the beauty of the house across the wall ，” Zigong said.

“However， the wall of my teacher Confucius is several ren in height so that others are unable to see the beauty of his house if they fail to find the door. So， it is no wonder that Shusun underestimates my teachers knowledge.”

Ren is an ancient measure of length equal to about eight chi or 266.4 centimeters.