蘇秦
After finishing his studies with Guiguzi, Su Qin travelled for several years and on his return lamented that "My wife doesn't recognize me as her husband, my sister-in-law doesn't recognize me as her brother-in-law, and my parents don't recognize me as their son!". All these misfortunes he blamed on himself and he thereafter shut himself in his room to study. To prevent falling asleep from long hours of study, he would stab himself in the thigh with a sharp instrument. This practice gave rise to part of a Chinese idiom or "chengyu" which means "to study assiduously and tirelessly". Years later, when Su Qin returned with full honors following his success with the Vertical Alliance system, his family received him with great reverence, causing him to remark on their change of behavior towards him, leading to the rise of another Chinese idiom which means "a change of attitude from arrogance to respect".