be penniless(bù míng yī qián)

be penniless

It's a Chinese idiom. Pinyin is B ù m í ngy ī Qi á n, which means to describe extreme poverty. It's from the biography of syingxing in historical records.

Idiom story

When Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was in power, a sailor named Deng Tong, who was good at rowing, was selected to be the Royal sailor in the palace. One night, Emperor Wen had a dream, in which he wanted to ascend to heaven, but he couldn't get up. Just then, a man in a yellow hat pushed him behind his back and finally made him go to heaven. He looked back at the man who pushed him and found that his belt was tied at the back. The next day, Emperor Wen came to Jiantai, which was built in the west of the palace. He saw a sailor wearing a yellow hat with a knot on his back. It was the man he had met in his dream. A man named Deng Tong was called to inquire. Emperor Wen thought that since he could push himself to heaven, he must be a genius, so he doted on him very much. Deng Tong is also honest and cautious, and does not associate with outsiders casually. Emperor Wen repeatedly rewarded him with hundreds of millions of money, and also granted him the official post of Shangfu. In fact, Deng Tong has no talent. He was cautious in his own affairs, and he could not recommend virtuous men. He just flattered Emperor Wen. Once, Emperor Wen ordered a fortune teller to meet Deng Tong, who opposed him and said, "Deng Tong will die of poverty and hunger in the future." Han Wendi said anxiously, "I am the only one who can make Deng Tong rich. How can I make him poor?" Therefore, Emperor Wen ordered to give Deng Tong a copper mountain in Yandao, Shu County, and allowed him to make his own money. From then on, Deng Tong made a lot of money. His copper coins were all over the world, and everyone knew that there was "Deng's money". One day, there was a sore on Emperor Wen's back, and pus and blood flowed continuously. Deng Tong felt that the opportunity to be filial to the emperor had come, so he went into the palace every day and sucked pus blood for Emperor Wen with his mouth. However, Emperor Wen was not happy. One day he asked Deng Tong, "who loves me the most in the world?" Deng tonggong replied, "it should be said that no one loves his majesty more than the prince." once Prince Liu Qi came to see Emperor Wen, who asked him to suck pus blood. When the prince saw that the sores, pus and blood were indistinct and smelly, he couldn't help feeling sick, but he didn't dare to disobey them. He had to suck hard, but his face was very ugly. Later, he heard that Deng usually sucks pus blood for Emperor Wen. He felt ashamed and hated Deng Tong. After the death of Emperor Wen, Liu Qi ascended the throne, known as emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Jing dismissed Deng Tong from his official post and let him go home to live. Before long, someone reported that Deng Tong had stolen overseas coins. Emperor Jing sent someone to investigate, and it turned out that it was true, so he confiscated all the money of Deng Tong's family. Deng Tong became a poor man and owed hundreds of millions of money. The elder sister of emperor Jing, Princess Chang, remembered Emperor Wen's last words that he would not starve to death and gave him some money. However, the officials immediately used the money to pay off the debt, and did not let him leave a hairpin. When the princess knew, she asked her subordinates to lend him some food, clothing and money. In this way, Deng Tong could not own a single piece of money. He could only live in other people's homes until he died.

Analysis of Idioms

Empty purse and empty family

Idiom usage

He is very poor. He has no money now, and his life is very tight. He has to do odd jobs to solve the problem of food and clothing. Even if we have no money, we should not lose our fighting spirit. As long as we work hard, we will get better one day.

The origin of Idioms

"I didn't get the name of a coin, but I sent it to someone else."

Chinese PinYin : bù míng yī qián