The Zuo zhuan records Qingji as a member of the clan of King Fuchai of Wu, often admonishing the king to change his ways of governing in order to avoid calamities for the state of Wu.
According to the Zuo zhuan, in the winter of 475 BC, Qingji heard that the state of Yue was about to attack his homeland of Wu.
According to this story, King Helü was threatened at the beginning of his regime by Qingji's well-known bravery, and assigned a loyalist named Yao Li to murder him.
Yao Li was given a public image of a person who endured great suffering under King Helü, substantiated by some pre-planned actual suffering such as imprisonment, the murder of his family, and cutting off his arm, so that he could obtain Qingji's trust.
[4] Curiously enough, in the book Guanzi the same name, Qingji, is used to denote a monster having a human form four fingers high, riding a small horse.