During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a filial candidate named Fan Kui from Fanyang once sought lodging at Tao Kan's home.
At that time, Tao Kan was quite famous, but his family was very poor, and he lived with his mother, Zhan, depending on each other. Several days of snow and ice made fuel and food even more scarce, while Fan Kui had many carriages, horses, and servants. Tao Kan worried, "With so many people and horses, how can I entertain them?"
Tao Kan's mother Zhan Shi said, "You just go out and entertain the guests; I have my own way!"
Madam Zhan's hair was so black and long that it trailed to the ground. She took up scissors, snipped off several locks with a few crisp cuts, sold them in the market for money, and bought several hu of rice. She then split half of the house's wooden pillars for firewood, and chopped up the family's straw mats to feed the horses. Tao's mother carefully prepared the meals, ensuring that even Fan Kui's servants lacked nothing.
Fan Kui, upon learning of this, said with great admiration, "Ah, only a mother like this could raise a son like Tao Kan." Later, the idiom "Cutting Hair to Keep a Guest" came to praise a virtuous mother's virtue, also signifying a refined woman's sincere and genuine hospitality.
Source: *A New Account of the Tales of the World*, Chapter "Worthy Beauties"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "截发留宾" came to describe praise a virtuous mother's virtue, also signifying a refined woman's sincere and genuine hospitality.