📖 Meaning
A betrothal pact made by parents before their children are born, symbolized by cutting off pieces of their clothing lapels and exchanging them as keepsakes. It represents a predestined marriage commitment arranged by two families, often sealed before the bride and groom even enter the world.
📜 Origin Story
This practice dates back to ancient China, where two families would agree to marry their future children to each other. To seal the vow, each parent would cut a piece from the front lapel of their garment and exchange it as a token of the pledge. The custom is recorded in the 'History of Yuan: Legal Treatise on Household and Marriage' (《元史·刑法志·二·户婚》), which explicitly banned the practice of 'pointing at the belly and cutting the lapel' as a form of betrothal, deeming it legally invalid. Despite the prohibition, the idiom endured in literature, appearing in works such as Ling Mengchu's Ming dynasty story collection 'Slapping the Table in Amazement, Second Collection' (《二刻拍案惊奇》).
💡 Example Usage
两家早有割襟之盟，如今儿女成人，正好完婚。
The two families had long ago made a lapel-cutting betrothal pact; now that their children have come of age, it is the perfect time to hold the wedding.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 割襟之盟
- Pinyin: gē jīn zhī méng
- Literal Translation: cut, lapel, of, pledge
- Category: Determination
- Characters: 4