📖 Meaning
Literally refers to livestock kept and raised in pens or enclosures, cared for only so they may be used. Metaphorically it describes people who are entirely at another's command, with no freedom or autonomy of their own.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from '求自试表' (Memorial Requesting to Prove Oneself), written by the poet-prince Cao Zhi during the Three Kingdoms period under the state of Cao Wei. After losing the succession struggle to his brother Cao Pi, Cao Zhi was sidelined and closely watched, denied any meaningful role. In this memorial he rejected the life of idle, penned livestock merely fed and controlled by others, declaring that being such '圈牢之养物' was not his ambition and pleading for the chance to serve the state in battle.
💡 Example Usage
他不愿做圈牢养物，宁可辞官归隐山林。
Unwilling to live as penned livestock at another's beck and call, he chose to resign his post and retire to the mountains.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 圈牢养物
- Pinyin: juàn láo yǎng wù
- Literal Translation: pen, fold, raise, livestock
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4