"To give him a peach, to repay him with a plum" means: He gave me a peach, and I gave him a plum in return. It means that the value of the peach and the plum is equivalent, and it is reasonable to reciprocate the courtesy. From "The Book of Songs·Daya·Yi": "You give me peaches, and you give me plums in return. The boy's horns are like a rainbow boy." It means that someone gave me a basket of peaches, and I repaid them with plums. The nonsense about a lamb having horns on its head is really disrupting your Zhou Dynasty.

This sentence comes from "The Book of Songs·Daya·Yi", and the creative background is as follows:

King Ping of Zhou is the son of King You of Zhou, Yijiu. The invading Xirong army was killed in Lishan Mountain. After King You died, Yijiu was proclaimed king. In the second year of King Ping of Zhou (770 BC), Marquis Wen of Jin, Duke Wu of Zheng, Duke Wu of Wei, Duke Xiang of Qin, etc. escorted King Ping to Luoyi by force, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began. At that time, the Zhou Dynasty was in decline and the princes were in power.

King Ping's governance was inappropriate. "Wang Feng·Junzi in Service" and "Wang Feng·Yangzhi Shui" were the assassination of King Ping. "At Mother's House (Shen State)". The author of "Daya·Yi", Duke Wu of Wei, was a veteran of the Zhou Dynasty and experienced four dynasties: King Li, King Xuan, King You, and King Ping.

He was an eyewitness to the exile of King Li, the resurgence of King Xuan, and the fall of King You. When King Ping was in power, he was already eighty or ninety years old. Seeing the corrupt conduct and dark politics of King Ping whom he supported, he could not help but feel worried and angry. , wrote this poem.

Tough and tough wood, used to make strings. A gentle, prudent and good-natured person with deep roots and high moral character. If you are a wise person, ancient famous sayings are here to advise you, and you should practice them immediately as a treasure. If you are a fool, it is not flattering to say that I am wrong. People's hearts are different and it is difficult to guide me.