倾箱倒箧 — “To empty out all one's boxes and chests”

During the Jin Dynasty, Grand Commandant Xi Jian deeply cherished his daughter. He heard that the sons and nephews of Duke Wang Dao were all outstanding, so he sent a matchmaker to propose a marriage.

When the matchmaker conveyed Xi Jian's intention to Wang Dao, Wang Dao invited him to the east wing to observe the young men and select a suitable son-in-law.

After his visit, the matchmaker reported to Xi Jian, "All the young men of the Wang family are excellent. Upon learning that I was there to choose a son-in-law for you, each one acted very proper and tried hard to show their best qualities. However, there was one person lying on the bed in the east wing with his belly exposed, eating, seemingly oblivious to the whole situation."

Xi Jian exclaimed, "That's exactly the good son-in-law I want!" Later, Xi Jian personally went to observe, was indeed satisfied, and married his daughter to this young man.

This young man was Wang Dao's nephew, who later became the renowned calligrapher Wang Xizhi.

After Lady Xi married Wang Xizhi, she once returned to her parents' home. She told her two younger brothers, "When guests like Xie An and Xie Wan visited the Wang household, they would immediately empty out all the food stored in their baskets and chests to entertain them generously."