Wei Yao, a man of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, was known for his excellent writing and once served as an attendant to Crown Prince Sun He.
During Sun Quan's reign as Emperor of Wu, his favored consorts vied to become empress, his sons competed to be crown prince, and court officials split into factions supporting either the legitimate heir or the favored son. The struggle ended with Sun Quan deposing Crown Prince Sun He and appointing Sun Liang as his successor. After Sun Liang ascended the throne, imperial clansman Sun Lin deposed him and installed Sun Quan's sixth son, Sun Xiu, as emperor. When Sun Xiu died, Sun He's son, Sun Hao, was established as the Wu emperor.
After Sun Hao ascended the throne, recognizing Wei Yao's talent and his prior service as an attendant to his father, he appointed Wei Yao as Marquis of Gaolingting, assigning him roles such as Imperial Secretary and Palace Attendant, and entrusted him with compiling Wu's national history, *The Book of Wu*.
Wei Yao possessed extraordinary foresight, able to predict fortune and misfortune with uncanny accuracy. One day, Sun Hao asked him how he managed it. Wei Yao replied, "It's simple—like taking something out of a basket." Known for his integrity, Wei Yao refused to bow to power. When Sun Hao ordered him to write a "Imperial Chronicle" for his father Sun He in the *Book of Wu*, Wei Yao refused, saying, "A 'Chronicle' is reserved for emperors. Your father never ruled, so he can only have a 'Biography.'" Sun Hao was deeply displeased.
Wei Yao repeatedly offended Sun Hao, who accused him of disloyalty and criticized his work on the *Book of Wu* as inadequate, so he had him thrown into prison. Despite pleas for mercy from others, Wei Yao—already seventy years old—was executed by Sun Hao's order.
Later, the idiom "items in a basket" came to be used to describe something very ordinary.
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, Book of Wu, "Biography of Wei Yao"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "筐箧中物" came to describe how something very ordinary.