Xie Lingyun, the first great poet of China's landscape tradition, was born during the Liu Song dynasty. From childhood, he was exceptionally bright and deeply devoted to learning, devouring countless books.
His family was a great noble house with vast lands and many mansions, hundreds of disciples, and countless servants. Xie Lingyun grew up in a lavish environment, so every item he used was extremely refined. Because he inherited the title of Duke of Kangle and lived a carefree life, others called him "Xie Kangle."
But not everything went his way—his title as Duke of Kangle was merely honorary, carrying no real power. In 424 AD, squeezed out by powerful ministers, he left the capital to serve as governor of Yongjia (modern-day Wenzhou, Zhejiang). There, bitter over his unrecognized talents, he often neglected official duties, spending months wandering the mountains and rivers. Eventually, citing illness, he resigned from office altogether.
After resigning from office, Xie Lingyun built a lavish estate in Kuaiji (modern-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), spending his days carousing with friends in wild abandon. One day at the Qianqiu Pavilion, he stripped naked and began shouting at the top of his lungs. When the local prefect heard of this and sent officials to admonish him, Xie Lingyun cursed them out fiercely instead.
Thus, Xie Lingyun spent his days wandering among mountains and rivers, composing many landscape poems that were cherished for their formal beauty and vivid depictions of scenery.
After Emperor Wen of Song ascended the throne, he greatly admired Xie Lingyun's talent and summoned him back to the capital to serve as Imperial Secretary. The Emperor praised Xie's poetry and calligraphy as "Two Treasures" and often invited him to attend imperial banquets.
This made Xie Lingyun, already proud and arrogant, even more conceited and overbearing. He boasted, "There is only one dan of talent in the world; Cao Zijian alone has eight dou, I have one dou, and the rest of the world shares the remaining one dou."
Soon, he relapsed into his old ways and disregarded the law. Emperor Wen, instead of promoting him, dismissed him from office and sent him back to Kuaiji.
However, Xie Lingyun found no peace even in Kuaiji. He decided to drain Huizhong Lake and Xiuhuang Lake to create farmland and claim them as his own. When the emperor learned of this, he decided to appoint Xie Lingyun as the governor of Linchuan (present-day Fuzhou, Jiangxi).
After arriving in Linchuan, Xie Lingyun continued his willful ways, even more brazenly than in Kuaiji. When officials came to arrest him, he defiantly ordered his servants to resist, resulting in charges of rebellion. He was exiled to Guangzhou and executed in 433 AD at just 49 years old.
Later, people used the idiom "Eight Dou of Talent" to describe someone exceptionally gifted.
Source: Anonymous (Song Dynasty), *Shi Chang Tan*, Chapter "Eight-Dou Talent"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "才高八斗" came to describe how someone exceptionally gifted.