负荆请罪

In the Warring States Period, Lian Po and Lin Xiangru were both senior generals of the State of Zhao. They both did great job to their country.
One day, Lin Xiangru took a lot of trouble to get a valuable jade back for the king. Then he got a promotion above Lian Po.
Out of envy, Lian Po said: “I’ll make Lin feel ashamed and foolish the next time I meet him.”
Lin Xiangru heard of this from others. In order not to cause conflict, he tried his best to avoided meeting Lian.
Because Lin put benefit of the country first, he thought that any conflict between he and Lian would be used by the enemy of their country.
Therefore, he brought doubts and blame from others on himself.
Later when Lian Po realized his mistake, he was so ashamed.
So he went to Lin’s home carrying brambles on his naked back and asked for punishment.

战国时期，廉颇和蔺相如都是赵国的大将。他们都对国家做出了巨大的贡献。
有一天，蔺相如因“完璧归赵”的事情获得了升职，职位在廉颇之上。廉颇愤愤不平地宣称：下次我再见到他，我一定要羞辱他。蔺相如听说之后，就躲避着廉颇，因为他不想跟他发生冲突。蔺相如把国家利益放在第一位，他认为他和廉颇之意的任何冲突都会被敌国利用，因此，他独自承受着别人的质疑和指责。后来，廉颇意识到了自己的错误：羞愧难当，于是他就来到蔺相如的家，在赤裸的上身背着荆条，请求蔺相如的惩罚。