down-to-earth(jiǎo tà shí dì)

down-to-earth

Down to earth is a Chinese idiom, pronounced Ji à ot à sh í D à, which means stepping on solid ground. It means to be down-to-earth and serious. It comes from Shao Shi Wen Jian Qian Lu by Shao Yong of Song Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

Shao Bowen of the Song Dynasty, Volume 18 of Shao Shi Wen Jian Qian Lu: "the Duke asked Kang Jie:" who is this man? " "You are a down-to-earth man," he said

Analysis of Idioms

On the spot; on the contrary

Idiom story

The "Gong" who asked Shao Yong "how I am" was Sima Guang, the one who smashed a vat to save people when he was a child. He is a famous statesman, historian, essayist in the Northern Song Dynasty and the editor of Zizhitongjian. In the process of compiling Zizhi Tongjian, Sima Guang worked hard and worked hard. He worked late into the night and got up early the next day. It is said that in order to ensure that he does not oversleep and wake up early, he specially made a "police pillow" for himself with wood, which is not a police pillow, but a pillow to wake himself up. This "police pillow" is round and smooth. The pillow is too flustered behind the head. If it moves a little, it will spin. The head that was originally on the pillow will fall off. Once it falls off, people will wake up. They don't need to sleep. They will get up and continue to read and write. It's also hard for him to come up with this move, which can be compared with "head hanging beam cone stabbing stock". It took 19 years before and after the compilation of Zizhitongjian, which almost exhausted the energy of Sima Guang's whole life. Looking at what he said in the "comprehensive reference table of jinzizhi", it's really moving and admirable that "the day is insufficient, followed by the night". The place where Sima Guang wrote Zizhi Tongjian is called dulianyuan. The site is located in simajie village, Zhuge Town, Yanshi City. It can be seen that he has a deep relationship with Luoyang. Sima Guang has a lot of friends in Luoyang. One of them is Shao Yong, Shao Kangjie, a master of Neo Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty, who lives in an'anle'wo. According to the history, "when he was young, he was self-confident and generous. He wanted to achieve fame and fame. He began to learn by reading all books, that is, he was hard and harsh, cold and hot, and did not sit at night for several years.". Shao Yong works as hard as Sima Guang. No wonder they have a good relationship. But he said that on this day, Sima Guang came to Shao Yong to chat with him again. When he got to xingchu, Sima Guang asked Shao Yong, "who is someone like?" "What about me?" Shao laofuzi replied: "you are a down-to-earth person." Don't think he is flattering. Throughout Sima Guang's life, it really conforms to this evaluation.

Idiom usage

They gradually lost their empty shelf and moved on. On scholar's sour Qi by Zhu Ziqing

Chinese PinYin : jiǎo tà shí dì