During the Han Dynasty, there was a man named Zhai Gong who served as Tingwei, the empire's highest judicial officer. Wealthy and powerful, his home was constantly thronged with guests, creating a bustling scene like a marketplace, with carriages and horses crowding the street so densely that even passersby struggled to get through.
In his prime, Minister Zhai Gong commanded such authority that a single call brought a hundred servants rushing, and his sycophantic retainers, ever watchful of his mood, would flatter and fawn, each vowing their undying loyalty. One would declare, "I have followed you for years with absolute devotion, unwavering unto death!" Another would chime in, "You are my second father; I would serve you like a loyal dog or horse!"
Seeing so many people loyal to him, Zhai Gong could not help but feel immensely pleased.
But this good fortune did not last long. Someone impeached Duke Zhai, accusing him of unfair judgment in legal matters. The emperor, in a fit of rage, dismissed him from office without distinguishing right from wrong, reducing him to a commoner.
When those guests saw that Minister Zhai had lost his official position and all his power was gone, they scattered like monkeys from a fallen tree, abandoning him entirely to seek new patrons. The once bustling entrance to Zhai's mansion suddenly became desolate and deserted, with only flocks of birds flying back and forth.
Soon after, the emperor realized the earlier impeachment of Duke Zhai was a mistake, so he restored his former official position and bestowed upon him many imperial gifts as consolation.
Those scattered retainers, upon hearing the news, shamelessly returned to seek refuge with Duke Zhai. The lively scene of before reappeared at his gate. But Duke Zhai had seen through these people's true colors, and wrote twenty-four large characters on his door:
"The living and the dead reveal true friendship; the rich and the poor reveal true attitudes; the honored and the lowly reveal true bonds." When Zhai Gong's guests witnessed his fall from power, they scattered in disgrace. The once-bustling courtyard of his estate grew so deserted that sparrows gathered in flocks, and people said one could set a net to catch them. This scene became known as "you can net sparrows at the door," a phrase still used today to describe a place so cold and empty that birds gather freely, with no visitors coming or going.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of Ji and Zheng"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "门可罗雀" came to describe a place so cold and empty that birds gather freely, with no visitors coming or going.