📖 Meaning
To devote oneself with complete sincerity and exhaust all one's thought and consideration. It describes a person who gives their wholehearted loyalty and meticulous care to serving someone or fulfilling a duty, holding nothing back in either devotion or mental effort.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Draft History of the Qing' (《清史稿》), specifically the 'Biographies of Empresses and Consorts' section, in the entry for Empress Xiaocigao, the primary consort of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty. The text states that she 'did not meddle in external affairs, but exhausted her sincerity and deliberation in serving the sovereign (不预外事，殚诚毕虑以事上).' Empress Xiaocigao was renowned for her unwavering loyalty, wisdom, and wholehearted dedication to supporting Nurhaci during the tumultuous founding of the Later Jin dynasty, never once overstepping her role. The phrase thus immortalizes the Confucian ideal of a consort's complete devotion — both emotional and intellectual — to her lord.
💡 Example Usage
他殚诚毕虑地为国家效力四十余载，鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已。
He served the country with utmost sincerity and exhaustive deliberation for over forty years, sparing no effort until his dying breath.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 殚诚毕虑
- Pinyin: dān chéng bì lǜ
- Literal Translation: exhaust sincerity, exhaust deliberation
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4