后起之秀 — “A promising young talent”

The idiom 'Hou Qi Zhi Xiu' (后起之秀) originates from Liu Yiqing's 'Shishuo Xinyu - Shangyu' (世说新语·赏誉) during the Song Dynasty. In it, Fan Yuzhang remarked to Wang Jingzhou, 'Your refined and elegant demeanor, truly an outstanding talent of the later generation.' The character 'xiu' (秀) means excellent, referring to an outstanding individual among the younger generation.

The story goes that during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Chen displayed exceptional talent from a young age, earning high praise from his relatives and friends. His maternal uncle, Fan Ning, a renowned classical scholar of the time, also held Wang Chen in high esteem. Whenever prominent literati visited, Fan Ning would always have Wang Chen present to receive them.

One day, Wang Chen visited his uncle and encountered Zhang Xuan, who had gained fame earlier than him. His uncle encouraged them to converse. Zhang Xuan, having long heard of Wang Chen's extraordinary intellect, was eager to speak with him. Being older, he naturally expected Wang Chen to initiate the greeting, so he sat upright and waited. However, Wang Chen, unimpressed by Zhang Xuan's demeanor, also sat silently, uttering not a word. Zhang Xuan, seeing this and unwilling to compromise his dignity, sat for a while before leaving unhappily.

Afterwards, Fan Ning reproached Wang Chen, saying, 'Zhang Xuan is a distinguished talent from Wu; why didn't you engage him properly?' Wang Chen arrogantly replied, 'If he genuinely wished to interact with me, he could have come and spoken to me.' Upon hearing this, Fan Ning, instead of further scolding, praised his nephew, saying, 'With such elegance and distinction, you are indeed an outstanding talent of the later generation.' Wang Chen smiled and retorted, 'Without an uncle like you, where would an nephew like me come from?'