📖 Meaning
To bare one's heart and reveal one's innermost feelings, showing absolute sincerity and loyalty. It describes someone who is completely open and devoted, hiding nothing. The vivid imagery of exposing one's inner organs conveys total honesty and faithfulness.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in Tang dynasty writer Huang Tao's letter 'Qi Pei Shilang,' where he writes of weeping and baring his soul, swearing loyalty unto death. The Song dynasty statesman Sima Guang also used the expression in his 'Ti Yao Shu,' stating that even in matters beyond inquiry, one should bare one's heart to demonstrate utmost devotion. The phrase draws on the visceral metaphor of exposing the gallbladder and liver to symbolize complete sincerity and unreserved loyalty.
💡 Example Usage
他在主公面前沥胆披肝，表明自己绝无二心。
He bared his heart before his lord, making clear he had no disloyal intentions whatsoever.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 沥胆披肝
- Pinyin: lì dǎn pī gān
- Literal Translation: drip, gallbladder, drape, liver
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4