During the Western Jin Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowu's empress had a brother named Wang Gong. As the emperor's brother-in-law, Wang Gong was proud of his talent and noble lineage, and his ambitions were extraordinary. Initially, the emperor appointed him as an assistant editor, merely an aide to the chief historian compiling the national records. Wang Gong sighed, "If one serves as an official but not as a chancellor, how can one's ambitions and talents ever be realized?"
Wang Gong set his sights high and held himself to strict standards in officialdom, earning a reputation for his upright character and unwavering integrity.
Once, Prince of Kuaiji Sima Daozi invited a group of court officials to drink at his mansion. As they chatted and drank freely, Shangshu Ling Xie Shi, already drunk and losing control, began singing vulgar street songs popular in the alleys.
Wang Gong could no longer bear to listen. He stood up, pointed at Xie Shi's nose, and said, "You are a high-ranking official of the court, yet today in the Prince of Kuaiji's mansion, you dare to sing such vulgar songs. What kind of example are you setting for your subordinates?"
Xie Shi was deeply embarrassed, and the others exchanged awkward glances, the gathering ending in displeasure.
Wang Gong was a devout Buddhist who modeled his demeanor and movements after immortals. Tall and strikingly handsome, he once walked slowly through a vast snowy field, wearing a crane-feather cloak, leaving a long trail of footprints behind him. The renowned scholar Meng Chang saw this and could not help but exclaim, "This man is truly like a divine immortal!"
Wang Gong, in a display of his devotion to the Buddha, mobilized laborers and spared no expense to renovate a temple, demanding it be resplendent and majestic. Whenever he found anything unsatisfactory, he ordered it torn down and rebuilt, exhausting the workers and stirring widespread resentment.
Wang Gong was so rigid and severe in his dealings with others, unable to show leniency, that his relationships suffered and his subordinates felt deeply alienated. This left him trapped in the imperial power struggles, ultimately leading to his execution by Sima Daozi.
As he faced execution, Wang Gong calmly adjusted his hair and beard, recited Buddhist scriptures aloud, and walked toward death with unwavering composure.
Later, the idiom "a celestial being among mortals" came to be used as praise for someone with refined features and an ethereal demeanor.
Source: *Book of Jin*, "Biography of Wang Gong"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "神仙中人" came to describe praise for someone with refined features and an ethereal demeanor.