📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to making every possible effort to rescue or aid someone in distress. The image of crawling (匍匐) conveys urgency and total dedication, suggesting one would go to any length to save another person. It emphasizes wholehearted, selfless assistance in times of crisis.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces back to the Classic of Poetry (诗经·邶风·谷风), compiled during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th–7th century BCE). The original line reads '凡民有丧，匍匐救之' — 'whenever people suffer misfortune, one should crawl to rescue them' — describing the moral obligation to aid others with all possible effort. Over centuries, the phrase evolved into the four-character idiom '匍匐之救' to denote urgent, wholehearted rescue. It reflects the Confucian virtue of benevolence (仁) and the duty to help those in need without hesitation.
💡 Example Usage
地震发生后，各方力量对灾区施以匍匐之救。
After the earthquake struck, various forces made every effort to rescue the disaster zone.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 匍匐之救
- Pinyin: pú fú zhī jiù
- Literal Translation: crawling, of, rescue
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4