Sima Xiangru (c.179 -117 BC), with the courtesy name Changqing, was a renowned litterateur from Shu Commandery (now Chengdu, Sichuan) during the Western Han Dynasty. He was celebrated for his prowess in the fu (rhapsody) genre. The tale of Sima Xiangru and his wife Zhuo Wenjun, who famously opened a tavern together, is celebrated in China, known in virtually every household. As the story goes, Sima Xiangru was once invited by Wang Ji, the magistrate of Linqiong County (an area now part of Qionglai City, Chengdu), to perform on the guqin at the residence of the affluent Zhuo Wangsun. It was during this occasion that he fortuitously met Zhuo Wenjun, Zhuo Wangsun's daughter. Zhuo Wenjun, celebrated for her beauty and talent, particularly excelled in music. Her betrothed passed away before they could formalize their union, casting her into a distinctive position: a new bride-to-be from a prominent family. Xiangru was smitten with Wenjun upon their first encounter. He expressed his affection by serenading her with the melody "Phoenix Seeking His Mate" on the prestigious "Lü Qi" guqin, a gift from Prince Xiao of Liang. Wenjun glimpsed Xiangru through the window, and her heart was captivated yet concerned about her father's disapproval. Driven by her affection, she daringly eloped with Xiangru to Chengdu under the cloak of night. At that time, Xiangru's poverty was such that his home was utterly bare, a stark contrast to Wenjun's former affluent life. Shortly thereafter, he and Wenjun journeyed back to Linqiong together. Xiangru sold their carriages and horses to buy a tavern. He then had Wenjun tend the bar, serving wine to customers. He, too, donned an apron and joined the hired help, performing various menial tasks and washing utensils in the marketplace. Subsequently, Zhuo Wangsun, in an effort to preserve his dignity, provided Xiangru and Wenjun with a retinue of a hundred attendants and a substantial fortune. Utilizing these resources, they purchased land and established a residence, enjoying a peaceful life ever after.

The story of Wenjun managing the tavern and Xiangru's manual labor in washing utensils became a celebrated tale among the literati and the elite during the Han Dynasty, especially in the Wei and Jin periods and even in the Sui and Tang dynasties. They regarded the act of tending the bar with honor and eagerly sought to emulate it. Consequently, many intellectuals from the Shu region were motivated to engage in tavern business and selling drinks, aspiring to the humble and romantic spirit of Xiangru. Numerous dignitaries and nobles, defying the imperial ban on alcohol, sequentially arranged for their concubines to lease premises where they could manage bars and vend wine, as documented in Chen Hui's "Rhapsody on Tang Niang" (螳娘赋 Tang niang fu) within Tang Dynasty text Miscellaneous Notes from Dreams of the North (北梦琐言 Bei meng suo yan), Vol.3. Li Bai, inspired by the narrative of Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun "tending the tavern and selling wine, yet harboring lament in twilight years", composed a poem in the yuefu style of the Han Dynasty, titled "Song of Grey Hair". The classic story of Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun is the quintessential origin of the romantic archetype of the "gifted scholar and graceful beauty" in Chinese literature.