0 · In One Sentence
A bilingual interactive narrative game adapted from "Zou Ji Remonstrates with the King of Qi": using a 2,300-year-old story about "who is more beautiful" to help students examine praise, motives, bias, and indirect communication in the age of social media. With one-click Chinese–English switching, the game can support Chinese-language learners, heritage learners, and advanced Chinese / world-literature classrooms.
1 · First, Clarify: "諷" Is Not Sarcasm
In "Zou Ji Remonstrates with the King of Qi," the word 諷 does not mean mockery or sarcasm. It means indirect remonstrance: offering advice in a way that does not attack directly, but allows the listener to understand for themselves.
Zou Ji does not accuse the King of Qi by saying, "You cannot hear the truth." Instead, he tells a story about himself: his wife favors him, his concubine fears him, and his guest wants something from him, so all three say he is more beautiful than Xu Gong. Only when the king understands this pattern does he realize that, at the center of power, truth is often distorted by motive.
The wisdom of this classical text is not only that we should "listen to the truth." It is also this: How can we say something hard to hear in a way that another person may actually be willing to hear?
2 · Core Story: Three Compliments, Three Motives
Zou Ji asks his wife, concubine, and guest: "Who is more beautiful — Xu Gong of the northern city, or I?" All three answer: "You are." Later, Zou Ji looks in the mirror and then sees Xu Gong in person. He realizes that he is not as handsome as Xu Gong. Behind those three compliments were three different motives:
| Person | Motive | Possible Bias |
|---|
| Wife | Personal affection: she favors him | Closeness may cloud judgment |
| Concubine | Fear: she is afraid of him | Power may silence truth |
| Guest | Seeking favor: he wants something from him | Interest may turn into flattery |
The point is not simply that "they lied." The deeper point is: Motives can reshape the truth — and may even lead people to believe the distorted version themselves.
Zou Ji brings this insight to King Wei of Qi: the women of the palace favor the king, the ministers fear him, and people throughout the realm seek favors from him. The king accepts the remonstrance, opens channels for criticism, and finally achieves "victory won at court" — not through armies, but through listening, self-correction, and better governance.
3 · From Classical Chinese to Media Literacy and Communication
This game does not begin by teaching terminology. Instead, students first experience the pattern through choices: Why does praise not always equal truth? Why do some people choose silence even when they know the truth? Why does direct accusation often fail, while story and self-disclosure can make hard truths easier to hear?
Core Concepts
| Structure in the Classical Text | Modern-Life Connection | How It Appears in the Game |
|---|
| Wife favors him; concubine fears him; guest seeks favor | Praise may be shaped by relationships, power, and interest | The three inner voices |
| Zou Ji looks in the mirror and awakens | Re-examining what one has heard | The mirror motif |
| Praise becomes expectation and pressure | Others define "who you are" for you | Immersive node: "Beneath the Praise" — three voices of praise before remonstrance |
| The King of Qi accepts remonstrance | A person in power becomes willing to hear difficult truths | Endings and reflection |
| Victory won at court | Change comes not through attack, but through correcting the system | True-ending theme |
Extension Concepts
Use these in follow-up activities; they do not all need to stand at the center of the lesson.
| Extension Concept | Where It Can Fit in Class |
|---|
| Impression Management | How people manage their image on social media |
| Optimism Bias | The belief: "I won't be influenced" |
| Spiral of Silence | Why people may hesitate to give three stars or say they disagree |
| Echo Chamber | Algorithms and like-minded information bubbles |
| Backfire Effect | Why fighting back against haters may make things worse |
| NVC: Nonviolent Communication | Extension exercise: rewriting hard-to-hear words |
| Satir's Iceberg | Extension exercise: hearing the feelings and needs beneath a sentence |
4 · Learning Objectives
After completing this activity, students will be able to:
- Explain the three motives in "Zou Ji Remonstrates with the King of Qi" — wife / concubine / guest — and identify similar situations in modern life.
- Analyze how praise can be shaped by relationships, power, and interest, and recognize similar patterns in social-media contexts.
- Compare indirect remonstrance in a classical text with modern communication strategies, explaining how "how we say it" affects whether others can hear it.
- Apply at least one media-literacy concept, such as Spiral of Silence, Echo Chamber, Impression Management, or Backfire Effect, to analyze choices in the game.
- For advanced students: rewrite a direct accusation into language that is more likely to be heard, practicing the distinction between observation, feeling, need, and request.
5 · Classroom Flow
Option A: One 50-Minute Class Period
| Time | Activity |
|---|
| 5 min | Warm-up: If you posted a selfie, who would be most likely to praise you? Why? |
| 8 min | Introduce the core of the Zou Ji story: affection, fear, and seeking favor |
| 20 min | Students play Three Hearts Beneath the Mirror individually or in pairs |
| 10 min | Small-group discussion: Which compliment did you trust most? Which did you doubt most? |
| 7 min | Whole-class wrap-up: connect game choices back to 諷 and indirect remonstrance |
Option B: Two-Period Deeper Version
Period 1 · Zou Ji: Seeing Motives. Warm-up: Whose praise are you most likely to believe? → Briefly introduce the Zou Ji story → Play the first half of the game → Review the three inner voices: which voice influenced you most?
Period 2 · The Modern Mirror: Seeing Silence and Echoes. Play the second half → Discuss Spiral of Silence / Echo Chamber / Backfire Effect → Extension activity: rewrite one hard-to-hear sentence in a way that is more likely to be heard → Exit ticket: What is one mirror you want to take away from today?
6 · Discussion Question Menu
Choose 2–3 depending on student level.
- All three people say Zou Ji is more beautiful. Which compliment is most likely to be sincere? Why might it still be inaccurate?
- Does flattery always mean lying? Is it possible that the speaker also believes it?
- A restaurant is praised by everyone online, but you think it is only average. Would you give it three stars? What keeps people from saying so?
- Is the algorithm like the wife, the concubine, or the guest? Does it favor you, fear you, or want something from you?
- Have you ever heard "You can do it!" as pressure instead of encouragement? Or have you ever felt truly supported by someone's words?
- If you were King Wei of Qi, could you accept hard-to-hear advice? What kind of wording would make you more willing to listen?
- Why does Zou Ji not simply say, "Your Majesty, the people around you do not dare to tell you the truth"? What changes when he tells his own story instead?
7 · Levels and Scaffolding
Beginning Chinese Learners: start with the English interface; provide key Chinese words (妻, 妾, 客, 私, 畏, 求, 諷, 鏡); focus on understanding the story and giving simple reasons.
Intermediate Learners: use Chinese–English comparison; students explain the three motives in Chinese and give examples from daily life; practice the sentence pattern "他說這句話，可能是因為……".
Advanced / Heritage Learners: read selected classical Chinese lines; compare the original text with the game adaptation; rewrite hard-to-hear words, or analyze Spiral of Silence and Echo Chamber patterns in social media.
Suggested language levels — rough guide only; not a formal proficiency certification.
| Use Case | ACTFL | CEFR |
|---|
| English interface + Chinese keywords | Novice High–Intermediate Low | A2 |
| Chinese–English gameplay and discussion | Intermediate Mid–High | B1 |
| Reading classical Chinese excerpts and discussing in Chinese | Advanced Low and above | B2 and above |
8 · Classroom Mode and Privacy
- Guest Mode: no login required, no personal data collected, and play data does not leave the student's device.
- Classroom Mode: teachers who want to view whole-class choices and reflections may request a dedicated class link. Students must give explicit consent and participate using a codename.
- Class links are set up by MomoLab Studio. Interested teachers can contact us through momolab.netlify.app.
9 · Further Listening
This game can be paired with Episodes 12A and 12B of the MomoLab podcast 誰說古文太遙遠 for further discussion: how Zou Ji uses his own story to deliver hard-to-hear advice; motives and bias beneath praise; Spiral of Silence, Echo Chamber patterns, and social media; how NVC and Satir's Iceberg can help students practice communicating with care.
Recommended for teacher preparation or as extension listening for advanced students. Not required before play.
10 · Source and Contact
Adapted from "Zou Ji Remonstrates with the King of Qi," from Strategies of the Warring States. Created with AI collaboration by a Chinese literature teacher.