seemingly unimportant but useful things(zhú tóu mù xiè)

seemingly unimportant but useful things

Bamboo head and sawdust, a Chinese idiom, the Pinyin is zh ú t ó um ù Xi è, which means to refer to the waste that can be used. From the biography of Tao Kan in the book of Jin.

The origin of Idioms

According to the biography of Tao Kan in the book of Jin, "when shipbuilding, sawdust and bamboo head were built, it was hard to understand why they raised their hands."

Idiom usage

It is a combination of subject, object and attribute with commendatory meaning. Example when the seasons are concerned and when the priorities are concerned, though there are still some who want to meet my needs, I believe that my younger sister's division is true to me. Song Dynasty Chen Liang's sacrifice to his brother-in-law Zhou Yingbo

Idiom story

Tao Kan was born in Poyang of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and later moved to Xunyang of Lujiang. He was the great grandfather of Tao Yuanming, a famous writer in the Late Jin Dynasty. Because he was "always loyal" to the rulers of the Western Jin Dynasty, he became the most powerful person at that time, from county officials to the governor of Jingzhou and Jiangzhou, and took charge of the military affairs of the other six states. However, during his military career of more than 40 years, he always maintained the style of diligence and thrift, and often encouraged his subordinates to cherish every plant and make more contributions to the country and the people. Tao Kan's family was poor when he was young. After his father's illness, his family lived on his mother's spinning and weaving alone. In order to cultivate him, my mother gave all her efforts. When he was 16 years old, he got a small official position in the county, responsible for the management of fish ponds. Shortly after taking office, he brought back a jar of salted fish for his mother, which was a favorite food at that time. But his mother was very angry. She sealed up the salted fish and said to him, "if you give me something from the government, it will not make me happy, but make me sad for you." Tao Kan was very ashamed of his mother's words and never took anything from the public since then. One year, when he was the governor of Jingzhou, he needed to build a batch of warships for war preparedness. Tao Kan often went to the scene to inspect and supervise, and found a lot of bamboo heads and sawdust everywhere. He felt it a pity. These things were all rubbish, but Tao Kan asked people to register and collect them all. When people saw him do this, they laughed to themselves. Later, during a spring festival rally, when it was sunny after the snow and the front of the hall was muddy, Tao Kan asked people to take out the sawdust and spread it on the ground. At this time, the insignificant sawdust played a role. On one occasion, Huan Wen, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was going to attack Shu. He had to build a lot of boats in advance. The board of the boat had been sawed, but there was no bamboo nail to fit the boat. So Tao Kan asked someone to take out the bamboo head and give it to Huan Wen, cut it into bamboo nails, and then the boat was loaded. Tao Kan not only advocated frugality, but also resented those who did not cherish property. Once, when he went to the suburb, he saw a man holding a handful of immature green rice. He asked him why he was like this. The man said it was nothing and picked it casually. Tao Kan was very angry and scolded, "if you don't grow your own crops, you're going to spoil others!" The man was immediately arrested and taught a lesson. In 315 A.D., Tao Kan defeated Du Zhen's anti Jin armed forces and conquered Changsha, which was very influential. Wang Dun, a powerful minister, dismissed his military power because he was suspicious of him, and Tao Kan was demoted as the governor of Guangzhou. Because of the lack of official business, Tao Kan suddenly became an idle man with nothing to do. But he didn't indulge himself. Every morning he moved a hundred bricks out of his study, and at night he moved in and out of his study. He was always sweating. No one knew what he meant. Some people don't understand and even laugh at him, but he says, "I'm in my prime. One day I will pacify the Central Plains and serve the country. If I live a leisurely life, I will not only become lazy, but also ruin my health. How can I take on the heavy responsibility in the future?" People can't help but respect.

Chinese PinYin : zhú tóu mù xiè