📖 Meaning
Describes the damage caused by rats gnawing and insects boring through objects such as books, wooden furniture, or stored goods. Metaphorically, it refers to the gradual deterioration or destruction of things over time through neglect or exposure to small but persistent destructive forces.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom has no single recorded classical source but is a compound descriptive phrase rooted in daily life in ancient China. The character 齧 (niè) is a classical variant of 啮, meaning to gnaw or bite. References to the damage caused by rodents and insects appear in various literary contexts, particularly concerning the preservation of books and manuscripts in humid southern regions. The phrase likely coalesced as a set expression during the Ming or Qing dynasty to describe the lamentable state of neglected texts and wooden artifacts.
💡 Example Usage
这些古籍因鼠齧虫穿，已残缺不全了。
These ancient books, gnawed by rats and bored through by insects, are now incomplete and damaged.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鼠齧虫穿
- Pinyin: shǔ niè chóng chuān
- Literal Translation: rat gnaws, insect bores through
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4