📖 Meaning
To put down one's weapons and take up farming, figuratively meaning to abandon a violent or criminal way of life and reform, or to switch to agriculture as an honest livelihood. It is a variant form of the more common idiom 卖剑买牛 and is synonymous with 买犁卖剑.
📜 Origin Story
The exact source of this particular inverted form is unattributed in the dictionaries. It is a variant of the idiom 卖剑买牛, which is traditionally traced to the Western Han dynasty story of Gong Sui (龚遂), governor of Bohai commandery under Emperor Xuan. Sent to pacify a region plagued by banditry, Gong Sui urged the people to sell their swords and buy cattle, persuading them to abandon violence and return to farming. The image of trading a sword for a plow-ox thus came to symbolize giving up arms and reforming one's character.
💡 Example Usage
他痛改前非，买牛卖剑，回乡安心务农。
He thoroughly reformed his ways, sold his sword and bought cattle, and returned to his hometown to farm in peace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 买牛卖剑
- Pinyin: mǎi niú mài jiàn
- Literal Translation: buy, cattle, sell, sword
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4