During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a scholar named Xu Zhi was known for his integrity, moral excellence, and outstanding learning. Many of his friends in official positions held him in high regard, seeing him as a man of talent, and repeatedly recommended him for government posts. However, Xu Zhi, with a detached and lofty spirit, had no interest in officialdom and politely declined each offer.
However, he placed great importance on friendship.
One day, a close friend of Xu Zhi passed away. Overwhelmed with grief and recalling their deep bond, Xu Zhi decided to visit the grave to pay his respects.
He bought a chicken at the market, roasted it at home, then soaked cotton wool in wine for about half an hour. After removing the cotton, he wrapped the roasted chicken in it and headed straight to his friend's grave.
Standing before the desolate graveyard, Xu Zhi felt a pang of sorrow as he imagined his friend lying alone beneath the earth. Silently, he soaked a piece of alcohol-soaked cotton in water to give it the scent of wine, then placed a chicken before his friend's grave as an offering to the departed.
Thereafter, whenever one of his friends passed away, he would often honor them with such a ritual to express his grief.
Later, people often used the idiom "Roast Chicken and Flocculent Wine" to mourn deceased friends or to express that even modest offerings carry deep affection.
Source: *Book of the Later Han*, Biography of Xu Zhi
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "炙鸡絮酒" came to describe how even modest offerings carry deep affection.