📖 Meaning
A cautionary lesson about the danger of building excessively grand houses. It warns that ostentatious display of wealth and power while in a position of authority invites disaster and the potential ruin of one's family. The idiom serves as a reminder to exercise restraint and humility.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Book of Changes (I Ching), specifically the hexagram Feng (丰, 'Abundance'). The commentary states '丰其屋' ('enlarge one's house'), comparing a noble in power to a bird soaring freely through the sky, able to build grand dwellings. Scholar Gao Heng of the modern era explained that this describes how aristocrats in power, like birds in flight, could expand their residences at will. The phrase became a warning that such unchecked ostentation would ultimately lead to the downfall of one's household.
💡 Example Usage
历代权贵大兴土木者多遭覆家之祸，当以丰屋之戒为鉴。
Throughout history, powerful nobles who indulged in grand construction often brought ruin upon their families; one should heed the warning of the grand house caution.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 丰屋之戒
- Pinyin: fēng wū zhī jiè
- Literal Translation: abundant, house, of, warning
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4