During the Disaster of Yongjia, the great clans of the Central Plains crossed south with their Household Troops, seeking land and homes in Jiangzuo, and frequently clashed with the gentry clans of the Three Wu. Scattered refugees, however, had little choice about where they could settle. Driven steadily south by barbarian cavalry, short of wealth and weak in manpower, they merely hoped to find somewhere near their northern homeland to stay, so that one day they might return to their old homes. Jingkou and Jinling were precisely such ideal places-
During the Western Jin, the region around Jingkou and Jinling had still been a vast expanse of tangled scrub, barren and desolate, with much land and few inhabitants. The gentry clans of the Three Wu had built no Manors or farmsteads there either, so Jingkou and Jinling became gathering places for northern refugees. Among them was the Gaoping Xi Clan. Xi Chao's grandfather Xi Jian had been a refugee leader, a man of great virtue and prestige with numerous Household Troops, whose power around Jingkou was formidable. For his achievements in suppressing Wang Dun's rebellion, he was appointed Grand Minister over the Masses, and the Gaoping Xi Clan thereby vaulted into the ranks of the foremost gentry clans.
Wang Dao wished to establish friendly ties with the Xi Clan, and the best means was marriage. Xi Jian had a daughter named Xi Xuan, gifted in both talent and beauty, while Wang Dao had as many as five or six sons and nephews of marriageable age. Wang Dao therefore invited Xi Jian to his residence to choose a son-in-law. The young gentlemen of the Langya Wang Clan all admired Xi Xuan's reputation. Hearing that Xi Jian was coming to select a husband for her, they dressed impeccably and assumed reserved expressions,