📖 Meaning
A metaphor for being utterly devoid of learning or talent. Literally describing a stomach filled with grass and intestines filled with vegetables, implying emptiness of mind. It is also used as a self-deprecating expression of modesty.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Yuan dynasty play 'Descending Mulberries' (《降桑椹》) by Liu Tangqing. In the first act, an elderly character humbly introduces himself before the assembled elders, admitting that he has neglected scholarship and has a mind empty of learning. He then offers to compose a poem despite his self-professed inadequacy, begging the audience not to mock him.
💡 Example Usage
他自谦草腹菜肠，不敢在诸位前辈面前献丑。
He humbly disclaimed any talent, saying he was but a mere novice unworthy of performing before the esteemed elders.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 草腹菜肠
- Pinyin: cǎo fù cài cháng
- Literal Translation: grass, belly, vegetable, intestines
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4