During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Jin attacked Zheng, which turned to Chu for help. King Gong of Chu led his army to join forces with Zheng, and they clashed with Duke Li of Jin at a place called Yanling. A Jin archer named Lü Qi shot an arrow into King Gong's eye, leading to a crushing defeat for Chu and Zheng. Duke Li of Jin, with Bu Yi as his charioteer and Luan Shu as his right-hand guard, commanded the pursuit of the fleeing Chu troops.
At that moment, Luan Shu spotted the banners of Chu's prime minister Zichong in the distance and requested of Duke Li of Jin, "When I was on a mission to Chu, Zichong asked, 'Why is Jin so brave in battle?' I replied, 'Because Jin loves strict order and discipline.' He pressed further, 'What else?' I said, 'Jin's army remains calm and unhurried.' Now that we are at war, it would be improper to send no envoy; to boast of order and discipline yet break our word would be neither orderly nor calm. Please allow me to send wine to Zichong." The duke agreed. Luan Shu then had a messenger present wine to Zichong, saying, "Our lord sent me to guard with a spear, so I cannot personally attend to your retinue; thus I offer this wine." Zichong replied, "Master Luan once spoke in Chu of 'good order and calm leisure'—this gift of wine must be for that reason!" He took the wine and drank it all in one go.
Hao means fond of; zheng means orderly and disciplined; xia means leisurely and unhurried. The idiom "hao zheng yi xia" describes being fond of order and discipline while remaining calm and composed.
Source: *Zuo Zhuan*, "Duke Cheng, Part Two"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "好整以暇" came to describe being fond of order and discipline while remaining calm and composed.