📖 Meaning
Literally meaning to reach one's hand into a bag and pry open a small chest, this idiom refers to the act of theft. It vividly depicts the physical movements of a burglar rummaging through belongings. In classical usage it can also extend to plundering or looting.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the chapter 'Quqie' (Prying Open Boxes) in the Daoist classic Zhuangzi, authored by Zhuang Zhou during the Warring States period. The original passage describes how a thief prepares to pry open boxes, grope into bags, and break into cabinets, and notes that the more tightly one secures them with ropes and locks, the better equipped the thief becomes. Zhuangzi uses this image to critique the paradox that elaborate moral and legal systems ultimately empower rather than restrain wrongdoers.
💡 Example Usage
那盗贼探囊胠箧，将店中财物全部偷走。
The thief reached into bags and pried open boxes, making off with all the valuables in the shop.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 探囊胠箧
- Pinyin: tàn náng wú qiè
- Literal Translation: grope, bag, pry open, small box
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4