During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing dynasty, in Tongcheng, Anhui, there lived two families as next-door neighbours, the Zhangs and the Wus. Between their compounds there was an alley for entry and exit. Later the Wus tried to occupy the lane shared by both families on account of building. The Zhangs strongly opposed the idea. Finally a suit was started in the local law-court. Then the Zhangs wrote to their householder, prime minister at the imperial court seeking support for winning. To their surprise, they were told to make three-foot wide room for the neighbor. After they yielded , the Wus did the same. That was why a six-foot wide lane came into being.