The allusion of "oranges born in Huainan are oranges, and those born in Huaibei are oranges" comes from Yanzi Chunqiu Miscellaneous Ten. Yan Zi (a politician, thinker and diplomat in the Spring and Autumn Period) generally refers to Yan Ying (a famous politician of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period). Yan Ying, whose name is Zhongping, was born in Yiwei (now gaomi city, Shandong Province), and was a famous politician, thinker and diplomat of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Yan Ying is the son of Wei Yan, a doctor of Qi State. In the 26th year of Qi (556 BC), he died of illness, and Yan Ying succeeded to the throne as a doctor. He has served as Qi, Zhuang Gong and other officials, assisting the court for more than 50 years. He is famous for his political foresight, diplomatic ability and simple style. He is clever and eloquent. Assisting in state affairs, he advised the King of Qi many times. He is flexible and principled, and he is not humiliated when he goes abroad, thus safeguarding the national dignity and prestige of Qi. In the forty-eighth year of Qi Jinggong (500 years ago), Yan Ying died. His thoughts and anecdotes can be found in The Spring and Autumn Annals of Yan Zi.
The original text of Yanzi Chunqiu Miscellaneous Ten
Yan Zi will make Chu. Hearing this, the King of Chu said to the left and right, "Yan Ying, a poet of the State of Qi, is one of them. Today, I want to humiliate it. Why? " "For his sake," said the left and right, "I'll ask you to tie someone up and walk over the king. The king said, "What is it?" Right:' Qi people are also.' The king said, "Why sit down?" Say, "Sit down and steal." "
Yan Zizhi, the king of Chu, gave Yanzi wine, which was filled with wine. Two officials tied a man to the king of Chu. The king said, "Who bound you?" He said, "Qi people are also thieves." The King of Qi looked at Yan Zi and said, "Are Qi people good at stealing?" Yan Zi avoided the table and said, "Babies smell it, but oranges are born in Huainan and oranges are born in Huaibei. Leaves are similar to disciples, but they taste different. What's that? Soil and water are different. Now people's livelihood is better than Qi's, but they stole it when they went to Chu. If he has soil and water without Chu, then the people are good and thieves. " Wang smiled and said, "saints are not interested in happiness, but I am interested in disease."