煮豆燃萁

Chinese

to cook; to boil bean; sacrificial vessel burn; combustion stalks of pulse
trad. (煮豆燃萁)
simp. #(煮豆燃萁)
alternative forms 煮豆燃豆萁
Literally: “to boil beans by burning bean-stalks”.

Etymology

From The Quatrain of Seven Steps, a poem attributed to Cao Zhi, a prince of Cao Wei, in response to threat of execution by his elder brother, Emperor Wen of Wei.

[Classical Chinese, trad.]
[Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5th century CE
Zhǔ dòu chí zuò gēng, lù shū yǐ wèi zhī. Qí zài fǔ xià rán, dòu zài fǔ zhōng qì. Běn zì tóng gēn shēng, xiàng jiān hé tài jí. [Pinyin]
Beans are boiled to make broth, pulses are filtered to extract juice. Bean-stalks beneath the pot burn; bean-seeds inside the pot sob: "We are born of one same root. Why incinerate each other too ardently?

Pronunciation


Idiom

煮豆燃萁

  1. to have a fratricidal strife; to have a fight between one's own men
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