During the Spring and Autumn period, Jin official Xu Chen (also known as Jiu Ji) was sent on a diplomatic mission. Passing through Ji (modern Hejin, Shanxi), he saw a man weeding in a field while his wife brought lunch, respectfully offering it with both hands. The husband received it solemnly, prayed before eating, and she waited until he finished before cleaning up and leaving. Deeply impressed, Xu Chen remarked, "If a couple treats each other with such respect, like honored guests, how much more would they treat others?" Convinced this man was virtuous, he approached and learned his name was Xi Que, son of the disgraced former minister Xi Rui, who had been executed for treason, reducing Xi Que to farming—though locals still called him Ji Que.
Upon returning to Jin, Xu Chen found Duke Wen despondent over the deaths of his two wise ministers, Hu Yan and Hu Mao, who had been like his right and left hands. Xu Chen then recommended Xi Que, vouching for his talent and virtue, insisting he could match the late ministers if appointed. The Duke objected, saying a criminal's son could not be trusted. Xu Chen countered, "Does Your Grace judge a man by his father's crimes? The ancients said, 'A sage does not abandon a worthy man because of his lineage.' Xi Que's father was guilty, but the son is blameless. If you reject him, you may lose a pillar of the state."
"Consider the ancient sage-kings Yao and Shun—both were wise rulers, yet Yao's son Dan Zhu and Shun's son Shang Jun were both unworthy. Gun, the father of the great Yu, spent nine years failing to control the floods and was executed by Shun; but Yu himself tamed the waters, so Shun passed the throne to him, making Yu a sage-king. This shows that worthiness is not passed from father to son—why, my lord, should you hold onto old grievances and cast aside a man of talent?"
Duke Wen of Jin was convinced by Xu Chen's reasoning, appointing him as commander of the lower army and making Xi Que his deputy as a lower army minister. Soon after, Duke Wen passed away, and Duke Xiang succeeded him. During the period of national mourning, foreign tribes invaded, and Xi Que faced them with both courage and strategy, earning the highest merit for repelling the enemy. Duke Xiang of Jin rewarded Xi Que by promoting him to minister and restoring his fiefdom of Ji.
Later, the idiom "Treating Each Other with the Respect Due a Guest" came to describe a married couple who honor each other as they would a guest.
Source: *Zuo Zhuan*, Chapter "Duke Xi's 33rd Year"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "相敬如宾" came to describe a married couple who honor each other as they would a guest.