📖 Meaning
To be neither as uncompromisingly principled as Bo Yi nor as excessively accommodating as Liu Xia Hui. The phrase describes a moderate, balanced attitude that avoids both extremes of rigid purity and indiscriminate tolerance. It advocates occupying the sensible middle ground between acceptance and refusal.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from Yang Xiong's Fa Yan (Words of Model), a philosophical work of the Han Dynasty. Bo Yi was a noble figure of the late Shang Dynasty who refused to serve the new Zhou regime and starved on Mount Shouyang, embodying uncompromising moral purity. Liu Xia Hui was a Spring and Autumn period official renowned for his tolerance and willingness to serve repeatedly despite being demoted, representing extreme flexibility. Yang Xiong invoked both figures to articulate an ideal of moderation—steering between these two poles, occupying the space between yes and no.
💡 Example Usage
他做事不夷不惠，总能把握好分寸。
He approaches things with moderation—neither too rigid nor too accommodating—always striking the right balance.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不夷不惠
- Pinyin: bù yí bù huì
- Literal Translation: not, Bo Yi, not, Liu Xia Hui
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4