📖 Meaning
To die with a smile on one's face, signifying death without regret. It describes someone who sacrifices or passes away feeling content and fulfilled, knowing their life served a worthy purpose. The phrase treats burial (entering the earth) as accompanied by a peaceful smile.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Book of Later Han' (后汉书), in the biography of Han Shao (韩韶), an official of the Eastern Han dynasty. When famine threatened the people in his region, Han Shao opened the government granary to save the starving, knowing this unauthorized act could lead to his own punishment. He declared that if he could keep the suffering people alive and then be condemned for it, he would 'enter the earth with a smile' — that is, die without regret. The phrase thus became a symbol of noble sacrifice made willingly and gladly.
💡 Example Usage
为了守护百姓，他含笑入地，死而无憾。
To protect the people, he died with a smile, without any regret.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 含笑入地
- Pinyin: hán xiào rù dì
- Literal Translation: with a smile, enter, the earth
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4