📖 Meaning
A great pig and a long snake; a metaphor for the rapacious and cruel. It describes greedy tyrants or aggressive invaders who devour and destroy like a giant boar and a massive serpent.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from the Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo), compiled during the Spring and Autumn period. In the record of Duke Ding's fourth year, the state of Wu is compared to a great pig and a long snake, constantly encroaching upon and consuming the central states. The imagery of two insatiable beasts was used to condemn Wu's relentless aggression against its neighbors.
💡 Example Usage
侵略者如封豕长蛇，步步蚕食邻国领土。
The invaders, like a great boar and a giant serpent, devoured neighboring territories step by step.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 封豕长蛇
- Pinyin: fēng shǐ cháng shé
- Literal Translation: 封, pig, long, snake
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4