📖 Meaning
When a fox is about to die, legend says it turns its head toward the hill where it was born. The idiom symbolizes never forgetting one's origins and roots. It also describes a deep yearning for one's homeland in old age.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the works of the Warring States period poet Qu Yuan of the Chu state, specifically his 'Jiu Zhang — She Jiang' (Nine Declarations — Crossing the River), where he writes that birds fly back to their old home and a dying fox always turns its head toward its birth hill. The 'Book of Rites — Tan Gong' also records this saying, interpreting the fox's behavior as a sign of benevolence and loyalty to its origins. Over the centuries, the idiom became a metaphor for unwavering attachment to one's homeland and ancestry.
💡 Example Usage
海外游子晚年常叹狐死首丘，盼望能回到故土安度余生。
Overseas Chinese in their twilight years often sigh about the fox dying with its head toward its hill, longing to return to their homeland to spend their final years.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 狐死首丘
- Pinyin: hú sǐ shǒu qiū
- Literal Translation: fox, die, head, hill
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4