📖 Meaning
Despite possessing a hundred skills and a thousand talents, one remains in poverty and hardship. It describes the paradox where highly capable people often end up in difficult circumstances rather than achieving success.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the poem 'Rising Early' (《早起》) by Chen Shidao (陈师道), a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty. The line reads '有家无食违高枕，百巧千穷只短檠' — having a home but no food, unable to rest easy; with a hundred skills yet a thousand deprivations, only a short lamp stand remains. Chen Shidao was renowned for his literary talent but lived in poverty throughout his life, and this poem reflects his personal experience of being skilled yet destitute.
💡 Example Usage
他满腹才华却百巧千穷，至今仍住在简陋的小屋里。
Full of talent yet stuck in poverty despite his skills, he still lives in a humble little house.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 百巧千穷
- Pinyin: bǎi qiǎo qiān qióng
- Literal Translation: hundred clever, thousand poor
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4