Liu Xiang, a scholar from the Han Dynasty, once told a fable to illustrate the moral: A man who seeks inward for his flaws does not blame his problems on others.

Once upon a time, an owl ran into a pigeon, and they had the following dialogue.

Pigeon: Are you going somewhere?

Owl: I am moving to the East.

Pigeon: Why?

Owl: The humans in the West dislike my voice, so I will try my chances in the East.

Pigeon: Why don’t you improve your voice instead of changing your audience? If you refuse to improve your voice, you will still face the same problem wherever you go. You will still meet with resentment even if you move to the East.