Wang Can, a celebrated scholar of the late Han Dynasty, hailed from Gaoping in Shanyang, where his ancestors had risen to the highest ranks of the Three Excellencies.
Wang Can's father, Wang Qian, once served as Chief Clerk to General-in-Chief He Jin. He Jin, impressed by Wang Qian's noble lineage, was eager to forge a marriage alliance. One day, He Jin presented his two sons before Wang Qian and said, "Choose whichever one you'd like as a son-in-law." But Wang Qian, known for his integrity and unwillingness to curry favor with the powerful, flatly refused the offer.
This, of course, offended He Jin. Soon after, Wang Qian was dismissed from his post on the pretext of illness. Depressed and resentful, Wang Qian fell ill and died at home shortly thereafter.
When Emperor Xian of Han moved his court westward, the young scholar Wang Can followed and arrived in Chang'an.
When the imperial advisor Cai Yong met the young scholar Wang Can, he immediately recognized him as a prodigy. Cai Yong, renowned for his brilliance and holding a prestigious court position, was so esteemed that his processions filled the streets with carriages and his home was always crowded with distinguished guests.
Once, the renowned scholar Cai Yong was deeply engaged in lively conversation with a house full of guests when he heard that the young prodigy Wang Can had arrived at his door. In his flustered haste to welcome him, Cai Yong rushed out with his shoes on the wrong feet.
When Wang Can entered the grand hall, the guests were taken aback—he was young and small in stature.
Cai Yong quickly explained, "This is the grandson of Lord Wang, with extraordinary talent that I cannot match."
Cai Yong truly had an eye for talent. Wang Can later achieved considerable literary success, becoming one of the famed "Seven Scholars of Jian'an," and was ranked alongside Cao Zhi as "Cao and Wang." His poetry was vigorous in language and impassioned in tone. His poem "The Seven Laments," beginning with "The Western Capital is in chaos," reflects the turmoil and suffering of the people at the end of the Han Dynasty, expressing deep disgust with the warlord conflicts of the time. His "Fu on Climbing the Tower" also gained considerable fame.
The idiom "Dao Xi Xiang Ying" refers to being so eager to welcome a guest that one puts shoes on backwards. Later, it came to describe warmly receiving visitors. Also written as "Dao Xi Ying Bin."
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, "Book of Wei: Biography of Wang Can"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "倒屣相迎" came to describe warmly receiving visitors.