📖 Meaning
Refers to rigidly adhering to petty loyalty and minor principles like an ordinary person, dying obscurely and unrecognized. It criticizes clinging to narrow notions of personal integrity without seeing the bigger picture or greater purpose.
📜 Origin Story
From the Analects (论语·宪问), where Confucius said one should not be like an ordinary man or woman clinging to small-minded integrity, hanging oneself in a ditch with no one the wiser. Confucius used this to contrast with those who understand when to be flexible for a greater cause. The phrase became a critique of stubborn adherence to personal honor at the expense of meaningful impact.
💡 Example Usage
他不识大体，为小节而轻生，不过是匹夫沟渎之举罢了。
Failing to see the big picture and risking his life over petty principles, his act is nothing but the folly of misguided integrity.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 匹夫沟渎
- Pinyin: pǐ fū gōu dú
- Literal Translation: ordinary, man, ditch, channel
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4