📖 Meaning
A metaphor for close relatives harming one another, especially brothers harming brothers. It is equivalent to the idiom "煮豆燃萁" and conveys the tragedy of kin destroying kin.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from the famous story of the Cao brothers during the Three Kingdoms period. After Cao Pi became Emperor of Wei, he distrusted his talented younger brother Cao Zhi and ordered him to compose a poem within seven paces or face execution. Cao Zhi composed the renowned "Seven Steps Poem," which depicts beanstalks being burned to boil beans—an image of siblings consuming one another. The exact phrase "燃萁煮豆" was later used by the Song dynasty poet Liu Kezhuang in his poem "寄题建阳宋景高友于堂".
💡 Example Usage
曹氏兄弟为争夺皇位而燃萁煮豆，令人唏嘘。
The Cao brothers turning on one another over the throne is truly lamentable.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 燃萁煮豆
- Pinyin: rán qí zhǔ dòu
- Literal Translation: burn, beanstalks, boil, beans
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4