Tian Wen's father, Tian Ying, was the youngest son of King Wei of Qi and served as prime minister for over a decade. With more than forty sons, Tian Wen's mother was a low-ranking concubine, leaving him with little standing in the household.
One day, Tian Wen asked his father during a free moment, "What is the son of a son called?" Tian Ying replied, "A grandson." He then asked, "What is the grandson of a grandson called?" The answer came, "A great-great-grandson." Tian Wen pressed on, "And what is the son of a great-great-grandson called?" Tian Ying thought for a moment and said, "I don't know."
Tian Wen seized the opportunity to advise his father, saying, "You have held power in Qi through three rulers now, yet the state's territory has not grown while your personal wealth keeps piling up. I have heard that 'the door of a general produces generals, and the door of a chancellor produces chancellors,' yet there is not a single talented person in your household! You hoard riches for heirs unknown while neglecting the affairs of state—this strikes me as deeply troubling."
Tian Ying recognized his son's keen insight and entrusted him with managing household affairs and receiving guests. From then on, more talented individuals came to seek refuge, and Tian Wen's reputation grew so great that even feudal lords sent envoys urging Tian Ying to appoint Tian Wen as his heir.
After Tian Ying died, Tian Wen inherited his father's title and later became prime minister of Qi. He was Lord Mengchang, one of the famed "Four Lords of the Warring States." The idiom "Generals Beget Generals" came to mean that a great general's descendants will also produce great generals.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Lord Mengchang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "将门有将" came to describe a great general's descendants will also produce great generals.