📖 Meaning
When putting on shoes, the heel of the shoe splits open. This vividly describes extreme poverty and dire circumstances where even basic footwear is falling apart. It conveys a state of destitution so severe that one cannot afford intact clothing or shoes.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from 'Han Shi Wai Zhuan' (韩诗外传) by Han Ying of the Han Dynasty. It describes Yuan Xian, a disciple of Confucius renowned for his integrity and poverty. When Yuan Xian answered his door wearing a bark hat and pear-wood cane, his hat string snapped as he straightened it, his elbow showed through his robe as he adjusted it, and his shoe heel burst as he put on his shoes. The passage powerfully illustrates how Yuan Xian endured extreme poverty while maintaining his moral principles.
💡 Example Usage
他晚年纳履踵决，连一双完整的鞋都穿不起。
In his later years he was so destitute that even his shoes were split at the heels, unable to afford a single intact pair.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 纳履踵决
- Pinyin: nà lǚ zhǒng jué
- Literal Translation: put on, shoe, heel, burst
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4