📖 Meaning
Despite possessing many skills and talents, one still falls into poverty. It describes the paradox where a highly capable person suffers destitution despite their abilities. It is equivalent to the idiom 百巧千穷.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from a poem by the Northern Song dynasty poet Chen Shidao (陈师道), titled 'Written to Zhang Chaoqing of Danzhou' (寄单州张朝请). The line reads: 'One word that enlightens the lord shows the heart is still strong; a hundred skills yet becoming poor inspires self-renewal.' Chen Shidao was renowned for his literary talent but lived in poverty throughout his life, never achieving high office. The phrase captures the irony that having numerous abilities does not guarantee prosperity.
💡 Example Usage
他虽精通多种技艺，却百巧成穷，晚年依然清贫。
Though he mastered many skills, a hundred skills only led to poverty, and he remained destitute in his later years.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 百巧成穷
- Pinyin: bǎi qiǎo chéng qióng
- Literal Translation: hundred, skill, become, poor
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4