King You of Zhou, Ji Gongnie, was the last ruler of the Western Zhou dynasty, known for his incompetence, cruelty, and corrupt governance.
In 779 BC, the State of Bao presented a stunning beauty named Bao Si to King You of Zhou, who doted on her endlessly. Yet Bao Si never smiled, and despite the king's attempts with music, dance, and lavish feasts, she remained stone-faced.
Someone suggested lighting the beacon towers to summon the feudal lords' troops as a trick to make Bao Si laugh, and King You eagerly agreed. He took Bao Si to the palace for entertainment and, at night, ordered the beacons lit. Seeing the flames, the feudal lords, believing bandits were attacking the capital, rushed with their armies to help. Upon arrival, they found King You drinking and feasting. The king sent someone to tell them, "There are no bandits—you've had a hard journey for nothing!"
Seeing the vassals rush in and out in confusion, Bao Si burst into laughter, and King You was delighted.
Bao Si bore King You a son named Bofu, so the king deposed Queen Shen and made Bao Si his new queen, and deposed Crown Prince Yijiu, Queen Shen's son, to make Bofu the crown prince.
Yijiu was deposed and lived at his maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Shen's home. Filled with sorrow over his own fate and the future of his country, he wrote a poem titled "Xiaopan" to express his feelings. The third stanza reads:
"Seeing the mulberry and catalpa trees by the house, one must show utmost respect. I honor my own father, I cling to my own mother. Who is not born of their parents' flesh and blood? Heaven gave me life, but where can I find my good days?"
Because King You of Zhou was tyrannical and untrustworthy, the feudal lords rebelled one after another. In 771 BC, the Marquis of Shen, grandfather of the deposed crown prince Yijiu, allied with the Quanrong barbarians to attack the capital Haojing. When the king ordered the beacon fires lit to summon help, the lords, having been deceived before by the "Beacon Fires Trick," refused to send troops. The Quanrong army stormed the capital, killed King You, and captured his consort Bao Si.
"The idiom 'bi gong bi jing' describes an extremely respectful attitude. Later, it also came to mean very dignified and polite."
Source: *Book of Songs*, "Minor Odes"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "必恭必敬" came to describe an extremely respectful attitude. Later, it also came to mean very dignified and polite.