cut one's feet the procrustean bed(xuē zú shì lǚ)

cut one's feet the procrustean bed

Chinese idiom, Pinyin is Xu ē Z ú sh ì L ǚ, foot: foot. Shoes: shoes. It means that because the shoes are small and the feet are big, you should cut off a piece of the feet to make up for the size of the shoes. It is used to describe unreasonable accommodation or copying mechanically regardless of specific conditions. From Huainanzi shuolinxun.

The origin of Idioms

"Huainanzi shuolinxun" says: "the husband raises and harms his family. For example, he cuts his feet and suits his shoes, and kills his head and crowns

Analysis of Idioms

[synonym] apply mechanically, kill the head and then crown [antonym] suit measures to local conditions

Idiom usage

It means that people do things mechanically and don't know how to adapt. If it's borrowing, it's hard to avoid the problems of "～" and "missing everything". Wen Yiduo's four heroes

Idiom story

In the spring and Autumn period, King Ling of Chu led a thousand chariots and 100000 soldiers to invade the state of CAI. It went very well. When King Ling of Chu saw that the success had been achieved, he sent his younger brother to abandon his illness and stay in the state of CAI. He was fully responsible for the military and political affairs there. Then he ordered 100000 troops to continue to advance and prepare to destroy the state of Xu at one stroke. The younger brother of King Ling of Chu, who abandoned his illness, was not only bad in quality, but also ambitious. He was not willing to serve as the head of the small place of the state of CAI, and he was often unhappy about it. There is a counsellor named Chao Wu under the command of Qi Ji, who is very resourceful. On this day, he said tentatively: "now that the king Ling leads his troops abroad, the country must be empty. You might as well lead the troops back home at this time, kill the son of King Ling, and set up a new king. Then you decide the government. What's the problem when you will become the king of the country?" After listening to Wu's words, he led his troops back to the state of Chu, killed the son of King Ling, and made Ziwu, another son of his brother, king of the country. When King Ling of Chu heard that there was a change in the country on the way to the war, his son was killed by his younger brother. He felt cold. Thinking that it was meaningless to live in the world, he hanged himself. In China, when he knew that King Ling of Chu was dead, he immediately forced Ziwu to commit suicide and become king. He was the infamous king of Chu Ping. Another story is that Duke Xian of Jin dotes on Li Ji and obeys her. Li Ji proposes to make Xi Qi her son the crown prince. Duke Xian of Jin agrees and kills Shen Sheng, her son. Li Ji finished these two things, but she still felt uneasy because Jin Xiangong had two sons, Chong ER and Yi Wu. At this time, the two sons were adults. Li Ji felt that this was a great threat to Xi Qi's future succession to the throne, so she proposed to kill Chong'er and Yiwu brothers, but Jin Xiangong agreed. But their plot was overheard by an upright minister, and they immediately told Chonger and Yiwu. When they heard about it, they immediately went abroad to seek refuge. Liu An, the author of Huainanzi, commented on these two things: "it's not wise to listen to the bad guys and make father, son and brother fight each other, just like cutting off the toes to adapt to the size of shoes."

Chinese PinYin : xuē zú shì lǚ