📖 Meaning
A solemn entrustment of an orphaned child to someone's care. It refers to the grave responsibility of raising a deceased friend's or ruler's young child, symbolizing utmost trust and moral duty.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase derives from the Analects (论语), compiled during the Spring and Autumn period. Confucius stated that a true gentleman is one who can be entrusted with a six-chi-tall orphan and charged with the fate of a hundred-li domain. The 'six-chi orphan' refers to a young child, typically around fifteen years old or younger by ancient reckoning, who has lost their father. Over time, 'six chi entrustment' came to denote the weighty responsibility of nurturing and protecting an orphan left in one's care.
💡 Example Usage
他临终前将幼子托付于我，这六尺之讬，我岂敢有负？
Before he died, he entrusted his young son to me—how could I betray such a solemn charge?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 六尺之讬
- Pinyin: liù chǐ zhī quàn
- Literal Translation: six, feet, of, entrust
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4