Sima Qian was jailed, but he wrote a historical record that was told through the ages. If a person did a lot of good things for the people before his death, even if he died, he would be as heavy as Mount Tai and go down in history. If a person has done many bad things before his death, he will die as light as a feather.

In his letter to his good friend Ren An, Sima Qian expressed his deep feelings after being punished, and mentioned his intention and determination to write Historical Records. In this famous letter, Sima Qian integrated Mount Tai into the famous sentence of the ages: "People die more than Mount Tai or less than a feather." It can be seen that in Sima Qian's mind, Mount Tai is solemn, majestic and majestic.

Later, people used "Mount Tai" and "Hong Mao", two objects with great light and heavy contrast, to compare two things with great light and heavy disparity.