📖 Meaning
Literally 'a dog continues the golden sable'—a dog's tail sewn onto the golden sable-tail ornament that marked senior officials. The idiom mocks officials who received their ranks and positions without merit, criticizing the over-conferral of office on unworthy people. It is used to condemn courts that bestow high titles indiscriminately.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces to the Western Jin dynasty (西晋), when Prince of Zhao Sima Lun (赵王司马伦) usurped power and heaped official titles on his followers—even servants and grooms—so that every court assembly was crowded with people wearing the golden sable-tail headdress (貂蝉) reserved for high ministers. The people mocked this with the proverb '貂不足，狗尾续' (when sable tails run short, dog tails are sewn on in their place). The specific phrasing '狗续金貂' appears in the Qing dynasty (清) play 《爱国魂·勤王》 by 筱波山人, which denounces a court overrun with such undeserved officials and asks who will sweep away the smoke of war.
💡 Example Usage
朝廷滥授官职，满朝皆是狗续金貂之徒。
The court handed out official posts recklessly, filling the entire government with dogs' tails passed off as golden sable.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 狗续金貂
- Pinyin: gǒu xù jīn diāo
- Literal Translation: dog, continue, golden, sable (mink)
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4