📖 Meaning
Literally, the wine has turned sour yet still cannot be sold. Originally it was a metaphor for wicked officials blocking virtuous and learned people from serving the state, leaving the ruler deceived and uninformed. It now also refers to poor management or the improper use of personnel in conducting affairs.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from 'Han Feizi: Outer Treatises of the Upper Right' (《韩非子·外储说右上》), a Warring States period text by the Legalist philosopher Han Fei. It tells of a wine seller in the state of Song whose wine soured without anyone buying it. Puzzled, he consulted a wise elder named Yang Qian, who asked whether he kept a fierce dog. Yang Qian explained that the ferocious dog would lunge and bite at approaching customers, terrifying them away—this was precisely why the wine soured unsold. In Han Fei's metaphor, the fierce dog represents wicked officials who intimidate and drive away capable, virtuous people, leaving the ruler blind to true talent.
💡 Example Usage
公司用人不当，如同酒酸不售，再好的产品也难打开市场。
With the wrong people in place, the company is like sour wine that won't sell—even excellent products struggle to gain market traction.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 酒酸不售
- Pinyin: jiǔ suān bù shòu
- Literal Translation: wine, soured, not, sold
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4