quench a thirst with poison(yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě)

quench a thirst with poison

Drinking poison to quench thirst, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin for y ǐ nzh è nzh ǐ K ě, refers to using the wrong way to solve the immediate difficulties without serious consequences. It comes from the biography of Huo Chen in the later Han Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

The biography of Huo Chen in the book of the later Han Dynasty: "for example, you can cure hunger by Aconitum carmichaeli, quench thirst by poison, and you have lost your throat before you enter your stomach."

Idiom explanation

Poison: the legendary poison bird can poison people by drinking wine soaked in its feathers. Drink poisonous wine to quench thirst. It means to solve the immediate difficulties in the wrong way, regardless of the serious consequences.

Discrimination of words

Drinking poison to quench thirst and "killing the chicken for the egg" both refer to focusing on immediate needs. But "killing the chicken for the egg" emphasizes the choice of interests, which means to give up long-term interests for immediate interests, while drinking poison to quench thirst depends on the degree of harm, which means to make up for or reduce the current damage without serious consequences.

Idiom usage

Yang Sichang's way of increasing the rates was to make the imperial court ~. Yao xueyin's Li Zicheng, Vol.2, Chapter 32

Idiom story

"Drinking poison to quench thirst" was published in the Southern Song Dynasty, Fan Ye, later Han Dynasty, Volume 4, Chapter 18, biography of Huo Chen, No.38: "the descendants of guangyiguan have a simple way, and they are located in the most prefectural county. They hope to be conquered day by day, and they are also free from the burden of filthy fiber. What is the name of the imperial edict? If you have doubts about it, you should ask for it. Is there any danger of death? For example, you can cure hunger with Aconitum carmichaeli, quench thirst with poison, and stop your throat before entering your stomach In the Eastern Han Dynasty, someone falsely accused song Guang, Huo Chen's uncle, of deleting the imperial edict before Liang Shang, the general, and sentenced him to prison. Huo Chen, who was only 15 years old at that time, wrote a letter to Shang, arguing for the light. The book said: "Guangwei, the governor of the Supreme People's Republic of China, has always been a law-abiding man, and has no crime of being involved in corruption. Even though there is doubt in the imperial edict, he does not dare to risk his life to change it without authorization. It's like when a man is hungry, he uses poisonous herbs to satisfy his hunger; when he is thirsty, he drinks poisonous wine to quench his thirst. Once he touches his lips, he dies before he enters his belly. How can he do that? " After reading the book, he felt very reasonable and presented it to the emperor. Soon after, he was released without charge. Huo was born in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He studied hard since he was young, and showed his unique talent. He was proficient in four books and five classics at a young age, and passed the examination of Mingjing. He was a famous "little talent" in the local area. When he grew up, he served as Yin of Henan Province, and later served as Tingwei. Huo has an uncle who is an official in the county. His name is song Guang. Because of his integrity and impartial law enforcement, he has become a thorn in the eye of some powerful people. Later, the dignitaries united to falsely accuse song Guang of tampering with the imperial edict. The emperor believed it, so he arrested song Guang, took him to Luoyang, Kyoto, and put him in prison. At this time, Huo was only 15 years old. Huo did not believe that his uncle would tamper with the imperial edict. After Song Guang was put into prison, Huo Zhen was very anxious and thought about the way to save his uncle day and night. Finally, he decided to write a letter to Liang Shang, the general who was in charge of the imperial court at that time, to vindicate his uncle. In his letter, he said: Song Guang was born in an official family, his official career was smooth and smooth, and now he is in the high position of local leaders. He was upright, fair and law-abiding, so he was valued by the imperial court. Such a person, even if he has doubts about the imperial edict, will adopt a safe way to solve it. How can he change the imperial edict privately at the risk of death? Such behavior is like eating aconite to satisfy hunger and drinking poison to quench thirst. In this case, the food has not entered the intestines and stomach, just to the throat, people have been out of breath, how can someone do this? When Liang Shang read this letter, he felt that Huo Zhen had made a lot of sense. He also heard that he was only 15 years old, and he admired his courage. Later, Liang Shang not only tried the case again, but also personally went to the emperor to plead for song Guang. The truth of the case finally came out, and song Guang was also acquitted. From then on, Huo's reputation spread all over Luoyang City.

Chinese PinYin : yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě