During the Tang Dynasty, a scholar named Xiang Si built a thatched hut at the foot of Chaoyang Peak in Fujian, choosing a life of seclusion away from officialdom, and aside from wandering Taoist monks and Buddhist priests, he rarely mingled with others.
During the Tang Dynasty, poetry was the heartbeat of society, and every scholar aspired to compose verses. Xiang Si was no exception. A man of remarkable literary talent, his poems were fresh and refined, earning widespread admiration. For over thirty years, he lived in seclusion at Chaoyang Peak, crafting many fine works. By the time he was in his fifties, his poems had already spread among the common people, cherished for their elegance and depth.
Some poetry enthusiasts, drawn by his reputation, came to befriend him through verse. After a few meetings, they grew familiar. His new friends felt his talent was wasted living in the mountains and urged him to travel to Chang'an for the imperial exams. Unable to refuse their sincere kindness, Xiang Si finally agreed.
Soon after, Xiang Si arrived in Chang'an and met the renowned elder poet Zhang Ji. Reading Xiang Si's poems, Zhang Ji found them extraordinary and wrote a poem for him, including the lines, "All day you sit reciting verse, enduring hunger—among ten thousand, one as rare as you is hard to find," showing great admiration for Xiang Si's talent. However, due to his inexperience with examinations, Xiang Si failed his first imperial provincial test.
However, Xiang Si did not lose heart. He took his friend's advice, selected his best poems, and wrote them into a scroll to present to influential figures at court or in literary circles, hoping their praise would boost his reputation and secure his name on the golden list in the next imperial exam.
As a result, Xiang Si's strategy succeeded. After presenting his poems to Imperial Academy Chancellor Yang Jingzhi, Yang greatly admired his work and specially invited Xiang Si to his residence. Upon meeting and conversing, Yang found Xiang Si's character and demeanor even more impressive than his poetry. So he immediately wrote a poem for Xiang Si:
Poetry Is Found Everywhere, and Every Poem Is Good.
Upon seeing his demeanor, it surpassed even his poetry.
Throughout his life, he never understood the art of hiding others' virtues.
"Everywhere You Go, They Speak of Xiang Si" – In the Tang Dynasty, a talented scholar named Xiang Si was unknown until he met the poet Yang Jingzhi. Yang was so impressed by Xiang's poetry that he wrote a verse: "Everywhere you go, they speak of Xiang Si." This line became so popular that people began using it to describe someone whose reputation spread far and wide through word of mouth. The idiom now means that a person's fame is widely discussed and praised by everyone they meet.
The poet Yang Jingzhi wrote: "I've seen Xiang Si's poems in several places and always found them excellent. When I met him, I felt his character was even better than his poetry. I never understood how someone could hide their own virtues, but after meeting Xiang Si, I finally understood. So whenever I meet anyone, I praise Xiang Si." Soon, this poem spread throughout Chang'an, greatly boosting Xiang Si's fame. When Xiang Si took the imperial examination a second time, the chief examiner selected him as the second-place graduate. Later, the idiom "Praising Xiang Si to Everyone" came to mean speaking well of someone or something wherever one goes.
Source: *Shangshu Gushi*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "逢人说项" came to describe how a person's reputation is widely discussed and praised by everyone they meet.