During the Southern Song Dynasty, there lived a brilliant poet and patriotic hero named Xin Qiji.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin Kingdom from the north repeatedly invaded Song territory, seizing vast lands. As a young man in his hometown of Shandong, Xin Qiji joined the anti-Jin rebel army led by Geng Jing.
Later, Xin Qiji moved to the south, serving in official posts and holding the position of pacification commissioner in several regions. Throughout his life, he steadfastly advocated resistance against the Jin dynasty, composing numerous poems and lyrics to inspire people to take up the fight.
However, his actions provoked attacks from the pro-surrender faction within the ruling elite, leading to his dismissal from office twice. He retreated to seclusion by Daihu Lake in Shangrao, Jiangxi, where he spent a full 18 years. It was not until he turned 46 that the powerful grand councilor Han Tuozhou, seeking to bolster his own authority through anti-Jin campaigns, reinstalled Xin Qiji as Pacification Commissioner of Eastern Zhejiang and concurrently as Prefect of Shaoxing.
At the time, the renowned patriotic poet Lu You, then 80 years old, also lived in Shaoxing. He and Xin Qiji were close friends, often discussing matters of the nation together.
In the spring of the following year, Emperor Song Ningzong Zhao Kuo suddenly summoned Xin Qiji to the capital to seek his views on the northern expedition. Xin Qiji shared the news with Lu You. Lu You was delighted and wrote a long poem for Xin Qiji, which included the lines: "A great talent used for a small task has been lamented since ancient times; Guan Zhong and Xiao He are truly his equals."
Lu You believed that Xin Qiji possessed the caliber of legendary statesmen like Guan Zhong and Xiao He, making his role as mere Pacification Commissioner of Eastern Zhejiang a gross underuse of his talents. He urged Xin not to let political setbacks dampen his spirit but to press on with the mission of reclaiming lost territories.
After reading it, Xin Qiji was deeply moved and greatly inspired in his thinking.
Upon arriving in Lin'an, Xin Qiji presented Han Tuozhou with many excellent strategic proposals. However, Han Tuozhou paid little attention to his advice, spending his days instead feasting and carousing with a group of idle, pleasure-seeking young nobles.
Xin Qiji was only appointed as the prefect of Zhenjiang. But he did not lose heart—there, he organized an anti-Jin army to prepare for the Northern Expedition.
In 1206, ignoring Xin Qiji's warnings, Han Tuozhou hastily launched a northern campaign and suffered a crushing defeat. Deeply distressed, Xin Qiji had already been dismissed from his post in Zhenjiang a year earlier and sent home to idle away his days.
Soon after, Han Tuozhou sought to call upon Xin Qiji once more to salvage the crumbling situation, but Xin Qiji was already gravely ill and unable to move. At last, the great patriotic poet Xin Qiji passed away in sorrow and indignation.
Later, people used the idiom "a great talent put to petty use" to describe improper allocation resulting in waste.
Source: *Jiannan Poetry Collection* by Lu You (Song Dynasty)
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "大材小用" came to describe improper allocation resulting in waste.