Buying cattle and selling Swords(mǎi niú mài jiàn)

Buying cattle and selling Swords

Buying cattle and selling swords is a Chinese idiom. The Pinyin is m à ini ú m à Iji à n, which means to lay down arms and engage in farming. It means to change business, to change farmers or to change bad people into good. It comes from the Song Dynasty Wu Lizhi's "gushanxi".

The origin of Idioms

Wu Lizhi of the Song Dynasty wrote the poem "buy cattle and sell swords, then make plans for children and grandchildren."

Analysis of Idioms

Synonyms: selling swords to buy cattle, buying cattle to fight. [antonym]: to fight in the north and south, to be belligerent, to sell calves and to buy knives.

Idiom usage

To stop the war means to stop the wind and sand in Zisai and to live in China at the temples. Come back to the spring. Buy cattle and sell swords, ask for fields and homes, learn to cultivate melons. The divertimento of Qing Xing Zi Gui Yin by Zhu Tingyu in Yuan Dynasty.

Idiom story

In volume 89 of the book of Han Dynasty (Biography of Xunli · biography of Gong SUI), Emperor Xuan ascended the throne. For a long time, the left and right counties in the Bohai Sea were hungry, and thieves rose together. Two thousand stones could not be made of birds. When he was elected to be able to govern, the imperial examination of prime minister was available, and he was regarded as the governor of Bohai Sea. When Sui was more than seventy years old, he was summoned. His appearance was short. When Emperor Xuan saw it, he did not listen to what he had heard. He said, "I am very worried about the chaos in the Bohai Sea. Why do you want to stop the thieves and call me? So he said to him, "the sea is far away, and it is not holy. The people are trapped in hunger and cold, but the officials are not compassionate. Therefore, his Majesty's son steals his Majesty's troops in the middle ear of Huangchi. If you want to win the evil, will you be safe? When he heard that he was right, he said very much, and answered, "if you choose virtuous people, you will have peace.". So he said, "when I heard that it is better to govern the people in disorder than to govern the people in disorder, I should not be in a hurry; I should only slow down, and then I can govern.". I would like the prime minister to be the censor, and I would like everything to be convenient. Xu Yan, the master, gave him gold and a biography. When they arrived at the Bohai Sea, they heard that the new prefect had arrived and sent out troops to meet them. So they all sent them back and sent them to the county to arrest the thieves. All those who hold hoe and hook tools are good people. Officials have no questions. Those who hold weapons are thieves. So I went to the mansion by bike. The county was quiet, and the thieves were all gone. The Bohai Sea also suffered a lot of calamities. Hearing of the order, the Bohai Sea immediately disbanded, abandoned its crossbow and held a hook and hoe. So the robbers knew that they were peaceful, and the people were happy. Then he opened his storehouse to the poor, chose good officials, and raised his army. It was seen that the common customs were luxurious, good and last, but not the fields, but the rate of frugality, and persuaded the people to farm mulberry trees, so that they could grow a tree of Yu, 100 bun, fifty, a border of leek, two mothers * and five chickens. There are people who carry swords. They sell swords to buy cattle and swords to buy calves. They say, "why do you wear calves with oxen! "In spring and summer, we have to move towards the fields, and in autumn and winter, we have to concentrate on the classes. Labor to follow, there are livestock in the county, officials and people are rich. There is no end to lawsuits. After Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, a long time later, there was a famine in Bohai Prefecture and its adjacent areas, and there were robbers everywhere, but the Taishou could not stop them. Emperor Xuan wanted to choose a competent person. The prime minister recommended Gong Sui, and the emperor appointed Gong Sui as the prefect of Bohai Sea. At that time, Gong Sui was over seventy years old. When the emperor summoned him, he saw that he was short. When Emperor Xuan saw him, he thought that Gong Sui was not like what people said. He could not help but despise him. Emperor Xuan asked Gong Sui, "Bohai county is in chaos. I'm very worried. How are you going to calm down the thieves there so that I don't worry any more?" Gong Sui replied: "Bohai county is located in a remote area. It has not been enlightened by the benefactor of Mu Sheng. The people there are hungry and cold, and the local officials don't know how to help them. As a result, his Majesty's people steal his Majesty's weapons and need to play tricks on the Bank of the pond. Do you want me to exterminate them or to appease them? " Emperor Xuan was very happy to hear Gong Sui's reply and said, "the original purpose of choosing virtuous and virtuous officials is to appease them." Gong Sui added: "I heard that the governance of disorganized people is like straightening out the disordered ropes. We can't be anxious. We can only take our time to achieve our goal. I hope that when I take office, the prime ministers and the censors will not restrict my work according to the rules for the time being, and I will be allowed to act according to the circumstances. " Emperor Xuan agreed to this request, and specially gave Gong Sui gold and sent him more post cars. After Gong Sui entered the boundary of Bohai County, the officials of the county government heard that the new prefect had arrived, so they sent troops to meet him. Gong then asked them all to go back, and ordered the county to remove all the officials who were in charge of chasing thieves. Those who have farm implements in their hands are good people, and officials are not allowed to question them. Only those who carry weapons belong to thieves. Then Gong Sui came to the Prefecture by car alone, and soon the prefecture settled down, and the thieves stopped their activities. There were still some gang robbers in Bohai county. After hearing Gong Sui's instruction, they dissolved and put down their weapons and picked up hoes and sickles. In this way, the theft and robbery subsided, and the common people began to live and work in peace and contentment. Gong then opened the granary, lent food to the poor, and appointed some good officials to pacify the people. Gong then found out that the folk customs in Qi were in pursuit of luxurious life. He liked to engage in industry and Commerce and did not pay attention to farming. So he set an example, pursued the life of thrifty servants, encouraged the common people to work in agriculture, and ordered everyone to plant an elm tree, a hundred Allium macrostemon, fifty scallions, a bed of leeks, and each family to raise two sows and five chickens. Some of the common people held swords and swords, so Gong asked them to sell them and buy cattle, and said, "why don't you wear a calf with you?" So in spring and summer, people have to work in the fields, and in autumn and winter, they have to check and urge people to harvest, and encourage people to save more agricultural and sideline products. (Gong SUI) also toured and encouraged the people to work hard. (since then) in Bohai Prefecture, every family had savings, and the officials and the people became rich. The common people will no longer fight lawsuits.

Chinese PinYin : mǎi niú mài jiàn