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In ancient China people sat on an oblong straw mattress spread on the floor and the straw mattress was called xi (seat). Xi was an excellent unit to distinguish between the honored and the humble, the self and the other, or the range of influence. The unit could be cut into two when needed, and the action of cutting was called “ge xi” (cutting the seat into two). There is a story that tells about Ren An and Tian Ren, two generals of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who, arranged to share one xi with servants at a dinner party during their visit to Princess Pingyang, the emperor’s elder sister, cut the xi as a protest against the disgrace. There is another story that tells about Guan Ning and Hua Xin, two friends in late Eastern Han Dynasty, who were sitting on one xi, studying together. When there were noises from sedan carriages going past the house, Hua Xin, curious, sat up and rushed out to see what was going on outside. Upon his coming back, Guan Ning cut the xi as a sign of contempt against him, saying, “You are no longer my friend.” The two stories indicate that there were rules to observe to share the xi (“tong xi” in Chinese).

Besides, there are further detailed rules for sharing the xi. The head seat on the east is called “shou xi” (head seat), while the last seat on the west “xi mo” (end of the seat). This is the origin from which such frequently used expressions today are derived: “chu xi” (be present), “ru xi” (enter and take a seat), “yan xi” (banquet), “jiu xi” (dinner party with wine), “li xi” (withdraw from), “tao xi” (stay away from), “que xi” (be absent), and “zhu xi” (to chair or be chairperson of). There are more expressions with the term “xi”, like “bi xi er qing” (to stand up and apart from one’s seat in an inviting posture), “yue xi er dui” (to leave one’s seat to face sb.), “ce xi er zuo” (to provide a special seat for sb.), “fu zi bu tong xi” (father and son do not share the same xi), “nan nu bu tong xi” (a man does not share the same xi with a woman), and “xi bu zheng bu zuo” (do not sit if the seat is not properly placed).