📖 Meaning
The finest lacquer from She County and the best glue from Dong'e—both renowned for their tenacious adhesive power. Used metaphorically to describe a deep, inseparable bond of affection or friendship between people, as though their hearts were joined like glue and lacquer.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from a couplet in the Ming Dynasty work 'Jiandeng Yuhua' (Tales After the Lamp) by Li Changqi, in the story 'Tian Zhu Meets Xue Yuan.' The verse reads: 'Even She lacquer and Dong'e glue suddenly come apart—how can clear dust and muddy water ever meet again?' She County in Anhui produced the finest lacquer and Dong'e in Shandong the finest gelatin, both prized for their powerful adhesion and thus symbolizing an unbreakable bond. The poet ironically laments that even the strongest of ties can be severed, comparing it to the impossibility of clear dust and muddy water ever reuniting.
💡 Example Usage
他们二人歙漆阿胶，情谊深厚，纵经患难也不曾疏远。
The two shared a bond like She lacquer and Dong'e glue—a friendship so deep that even hardship could never drive them apart.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 歙漆阿胶
- Pinyin: shè qī ē jiāo
- Literal Translation: She County lacquer, Dong'e glue
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4