📖 Meaning
To possess talent and virtue yet refuse to step forward and serve one's country. It describes someone who keeps their abilities hidden while the nation is in disorder. The phrase carries a moral critique, suggesting that withholding one's gifts when they are needed is a failure of benevolence.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Analects (论语·阳货), in which Confucius is pressed by Yang Huo (阳货), a powerful minister of the state of Lu, to take up office. Confucius had been reluctant to serve because of the political disorder in Lu. In the dialogue, Yang Huo poses a rhetorical question: 'To harbor one's treasure and let one's state go astray — can this be called benevolence?' Confucius finally concedes and agrees to serve. The phrase was later condensed into the four-character idiom '怀宝迷邦', warning that hoarding one's talents during troubled times is a dereliction of moral duty.
💡 Example Usage
国家危难之际，若仍怀宝迷邦，岂不愧对先贤之训？
To cling to one's talents and let the nation drift in peril — would that not betray the teachings of the sages?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 怀宝迷邦
- Pinyin: huái bǎo mí bāng
- Literal Translation: harbor treasure, let the state go astray
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4