📖 Meaning
To stamp one's feet and beat one's chest. It describes a state of extreme grief, anguish, or fury, expressing emotion so intense that one cannot contain it through words alone.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Yuan dynasty anonymous play 'The Tale of the White Rabbit' (《白兔记》), where a character, drunk and incoherent, provokes another into stomping the ground and beating the chest while sighing endlessly. It vividly captures the physical manifestation of overwhelming sorrow or rage. Similar expressions appear in later Ming dynasty works such as Wu Yuantai's 'Journey to the East' (《东游记》), where a mourner stamps and beats his chest before a coffin in despair.
💡 Example Usage
听闻噩耗，他顿足捶胸，悲痛欲绝。
Upon hearing the tragic news, he stamped his feet and beat his chest in overwhelming grief.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 顿足捶胸
- Pinyin: dùn zú chuí xiōng
- Literal Translation: stamp, feet, beat, chest
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4