📖 Meaning
Literally meaning to eat the dregs of wine and sip thin wine to get drunk. It is a metaphor for compromising one's principles to conform to the ways of the world and go along with the crowd. It can also describe writing so beautiful that it intoxicates and captivates the reader.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom traces back to 'The Fisherman' (渔父), a piece in the Songs of Chu (楚辞) from the Warring States period. In the text, a fisherman encounters the exiled poet Qu Yuan and advises him that since the world is corrupt, he should muddy the waters and drink with the drunkards rather than maintain his purity. Qu Yuan refuses, declaring he would rather drown than let his purity be stained. The fisherman's suggestion—to eat the dregs and drink the thin wine—became a lasting symbol of choosing conformity over integrity.
💡 Example Usage
面对官场的腐败，他不愿哺糟啜醨，毅然选择归隐山林。
Confronted with official corruption, he refused to compromise his principles and resolutely chose to retire to the mountains.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 哺糟啜醨
- Pinyin: bǔ zāo chuò lí
- Literal Translation: eat wine dregs, sip thin wine
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4