📖 Meaning
A metaphor for taking the blame or punishment meant for someone else, or substituting one thing for another. It describes situations where an innocent party suffers consequences on behalf of another.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Pu Songling's 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' (聊斋志异), Qing Dynasty, in the story 'Rouzhi' (胭脂). In the tale, a case of mistaken identity leads to an innocent scholar being wrongfully accused of a crime, prompting Pu to lament that 'the stiff plum replaces the peach,' meaning an innocent person bore the guilt for another's misdeed. It is a variant of the older expression 李代桃僵, which traces back to a Han Dynasty folk poem about a plum tree dying in place of a peach tree.
💡 Example Usage
他为了保护上司，甘愿僵李代桃，承担了全部责任。
To protect his superior, he willingly took the blame and bore full responsibility in his place.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 僵李代桃
- Pinyin: jiāng lǐ dài táo
- Literal Translation: stiff, plum, replace, peach
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4