During the Jin Dynasty, a man named Xie Xi from Jinan served as an imperial advisor, a senior attendant, and the governor of Yu and Yong provinces.
That year, a rebellion erupted among the Di and Qiang tribes, and the imperial court ordered Xie Xi to join the campaign alongside General Zhao Wang Lun, the Prince of Zhao, to suppress the uprising.
The King of Zhao placed his full trust in a treacherous sycophant named Sun Xiu, who bullied his way through the military, seizing every chance to undermine the official Xie Xi and constantly submitting slanderous reports to the court.
Fortunately, the imperial court understood Xie Xi, recognizing him as a man of unwavering integrity and resilience. To prevent internal conflict, they recalled Sima Lun, the Prince of Zhao.
Xie Xi knew well that Sun Xiu was a menace, so he submitted a memorial to the emperor urging Sun Xiu's execution, but his request was denied.
Taking advantage of the situation, Zhao Wang Lun and Sun Xiu slandered Xie Xi before the emperor, who believed their lies without distinguishing loyalty from treachery and dismissed Xie Xi from his post.
Xie Xi returned to his hometown as a common scholar, living in poverty and keeping to himself, embracing the life of an ordinary citizen.
Prince Zhao of Zhao and Sun Xiu held a deep grudge against Xie Xi, determined to see him dead. Seizing the opportunity when Zhang Hua and Pei Wei were executed, they implicated Xie Xi and had him and his brother arrested together.
Liang Wangdiao learned of Jie Xi's wrongful imprisonment and petitioned the emperor to rescue them.
King Lun of Zhao heard this and snarled, "I loathe even seeing crabs in water, let alone these two brothers who look down on me so. If I can tolerate them, who can I not tolerate?"
Despite the Liang king's desperate efforts, his pleas fell on deaf ears. Xie Xi was thrown into a well and drowned, and his wife, children, and entire family were all brutally slaughtered.
Later, the idiom "If this can be endured, what cannot?" came to mean: if this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated.
Source: *Book of Jin*, "Biography of Xie Xi"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "此而可忍，孰不可忍" came to describe if this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated.