Ji Kang, a renowned writer and musician of the Wei Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, was known for his towering stature, sharp intellect, and unyielding integrity. His open disdain for the Sima clan, who controlled the court, ultimately led to his execution at just forty-one years old on trumped-up charges ordered by Sima Zhao.
Ji Kang's son, Ji Shao, inherited his father's brilliance and was both tall and strikingly handsome, standing out in any crowd.
After Sima Yan replaced Wei and became emperor, Ji Shao was summoned to the capital Luoyang to serve as an official. Someone saw him and said to his father's close friend Wang Rong, "Yesterday I saw Ji Shao. He is extremely tall and truly majestic. Among the crowd, he stands out like a crane among chickens."
Wang Rong replied, "You haven't seen his father Ji Kang yet—he was even more outstanding!"
After Emperor Hui of Jin, Sima Zhong, ascended the throne, Ji Shao served as an imperial advisor, attending the emperor and frequently entering and leaving the palace. Later, the War of the Eight Princes erupted among the Western Jin royal family. When Ji Shao accompanied Emperor Hui on a military campaign, he did his utmost to protect the emperor, tragically taking an arrow and dying, with his blood splattering onto the emperor's battle robe. Deeply moved, Emperor Hui refused to let his attendants wash the bloodstains from the robe, declaring, "This is the blood of my loyal minister, Ji Shao—do not remove it," as a lasting tribute to his noble character.
Later, the idiom "a crane among chickens" came to describe someone with outstanding appearance, character, or talent far above the average person.
Source: *A New Account of the Tales of the World*, "Appearance and Behavior"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "鹤立鸡群" came to describe how someone with outstanding appearance, character, or talent far above the average person.