📖 Meaning
To suffer humiliation and lose one's moral integrity or chastity. It describes a person whose virtue and reputation have been destroyed, either through coercion or circumstance. The phrase emphasizes both the physical violation and the loss of moral standing.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase appears in Lu Xun's work 'Notes on Old Fiction: Dream of the Red Chamber,' where he comments on the tragic character Miaoyu from the classic novel 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Despite Miaoyu's reclusive purity and devotion to a life of Buddhist austerity, she is kidnapped by bandits and subjected to disgrace. Lu Xun notes that the author further burdened her with accusations of losing her virtue and integrity, as well as slanders about greed and bribery. Lu Xun expressed deep sympathy, recognizing the author's profound grief over her fate.
💡 Example Usage
她宁死不屈，绝不愿丧身失节。
She would rather die than submit and lose her virtue and integrity.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 丧身失节
- Pinyin: sàng shēn shī jié
- Literal Translation: lose body, lose integrity
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4