sacrifice life for the sake of gain(pōu fù cáng zhū)

sacrifice life for the sake of gain

Chinese idiom, Pinyin is p ō UF ù C á ngzhi ū, which means to break the stomach and hide the Pearl; it is compared to the injury of things and the reversal of the weight. From Zizhi Tongjian, Tang Ji, the first year of Taizong Zhenguan.

The origin of Idioms

"Zizhitongjian · Tangji · the first year of Taizong Zhenguan": "I heard that Jiahu in the western regions had a beautiful pearl, and I dissected my body to hide it. What are the reasons?"

Analysis of Idioms

Putting the cart before the horse

Idiom usage

It is used as predicate and object. It is used as metaphor that things hurt the body and the weight is reversed. If you lose your hand, it's limited. How can you suddenly change this "～" and temper again. Cao Xueqin's dream of Red Mansions in Qing Dynasty chapter 45

Idiom story

One day, while chatting with his courtiers, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty told a story: "there was a merchant in the western regions who got a pearl by chance, which was a priceless treasure he had never seen before. He loved it very much and was afraid of being stolen. He didn't feel at ease where he put it. Later, he cut his body to hide it, opened his stomach and hid the Pearl in it. This is quite safe, but his life is gone. this story is called "open abdomen hidden pearl" or "open body hidden pearl". Tang Taizong said: "I heard this story. Do you think there will be such a person?" The courtiers said, "I'm afraid so." Tang Taizong said: "people all know how ridiculous the merchant's foolish behavior of loving beads but not his body is. But some officials are killed because of bribery, and some emperors perish because of the pursuit of unlimited enjoyment. Isn't it just as ridiculous as him?" Wei Zheng, the official of admonishment at that time, continued: "there are some people who forget their own bodies and lives because they are greedy and greedy. Once upon a time, Duke AI of Lu said to Confucius, "there was a forgetful man who moved and forgot his wife.". Confucius said: "this is not unusual, there are more serious forgetfulness: Jie and Zhou forget their bodies!" (see "forgetting one's wife when moving to another's home")

Chinese PinYin : pōu fù cáng zhū