📖 Meaning
Originally describing a situation where so many people had their feet amputated as punishment that ordinary shoes became cheap while special footwear for amputees became expensive. It characterizes the use of corporal punishment that is both harsh and excessive. It can also metaphorically indicate that criminals are numerous in a society.
📜 Origin Story
From the Zuo Zhuan (Chronicle of Zuo), Year 3 of Duke Zhao (539 BC). Yan Ying, a minister of the state of Qi, described to Shu Xiang of the state of Jin how Duke Jing of Qi governed with heavy taxes and cruel punishments. So many people were subjected to foot amputation that in the markets of Qi, ordinary shoes sold cheaply while prosthetic footwear for amputees commanded high prices. The passage vividly illustrates the suffering of the people under tyrannical rule and became a enduring critique of harsh governance.
💡 Example Usage
暴君滥用酷刑，致使屦贱踊贵，百姓苦不堪言。
The tyrant's excessive use of cruel punishments caused ordinary shoes to be cheap yet amputees' footwear expensive, leaving the common people in unbearable misery.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 屦贱踊贵
- Pinyin: jù jiàn yǒng guì
- Literal Translation: shoes cheap, amputee-footwear expensive
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4