Zhou, styled Boren, was a high minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. From youth he was eloquent, and as an adult gained considerable fame for his witty and humorous speech, broad-mindedness, and disregard for trivial matters. With a cheerful disposition, he never held grudges over small issues, and people of the time praised him as "having refined tolerance and surpassing fraternal love."
Due to his exceptional talent and moral character, Zhou Yi earned great renown and was appointed by the emperor as Left Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat. His younger brother, Zhou Song, though inferior in both ability and virtue, grew deeply jealous. One evening, as the brothers drank together, Zhou Song, fueled by wine, hurled a burning candle at Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi merely dodged, his expression unchanged, showing no anger. He calmly said, "Ah Nu, throwing a candle at me is truly a poor strategy!"
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a trend of "pure conversation" prevailed among some renowned scholars, who would drink wine while engaging in lofty discussions. They focused solely on their own character and temperament, paying no heed to formal etiquette.
Zhou Yi's home was often filled with guests drinking and chatting, among them Wang Dao, the prime minister who helped Sima Rui establish the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Both the Zhou and Wang families were prominent clans from the Central Plains, so Zhou Yi and Wang Dao shared a deep personal friendship.
Once, Wang Dao and Zhou were talking so congenially that their conversation grew increasingly lively. In his elation, Wang Dao became so carried away that he lay sideways, resting his head on Zhou's knee, and pointing at Zhou's protruding belly, asked, "What exactly do you have in there?"
Zhou straightened up, patted his belly, and said mockingly, "In here? Nothing at all. 'Empty and hollow.' But someone like you, sir, could fit in here by the hundreds."
Later, the idiom "hollow and empty" came to describe something completely devoid of content, often referring to writing that lacks substance or is impractical.
Source: *A New Account of the Tales of the World*, "Taunting and Teasing"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "空洞无物" came to describe how something completely devoid of content, often referring to writing that lacks substance or is impractical.