📖 Meaning
Deer calling to each other in the field while feeding together on wild herbs. It is a metaphor for treating people with complete sincerity and sharing both hardship and joy with them, just as the deer gather and graze in harmony.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from the poem "Lu Ming" (Deer Cry) in the "Lesser Court Hymns" (Xiaoya) section of the Book of Songs (Shijing), China's earliest poetry anthology, with most poems dating to the Western Zhou period (c. 11th-8th century BCE) through the Spring and Autumn era. The original line "呦呦鹿鸣，食野之苹" depicts a herd of deer bleating happily as they graze together on wild herbs, symbolizing harmonious fellowship. Traditionally, this poem was sung at banquets to welcome honored guests, so later writers condensed its opening image into this idiom to express sincere hospitality and the bond of sharing weal and woe.
💡 Example Usage
他鸣野食苹以待友，一片诚心，令人动容。
He treated his friends with the sincerity of deer calling and feeding together in the wild, and his wholehearted honesty moved everyone.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鸣野食苹
- Pinyin: míng yě shí píng
- Literal Translation: call, wild, eat, wild celery herb
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4