📖 Meaning
Describes a person who lacks both physical strength and moral courage. It conveys a state of utter powerlessness and timidity, where one has neither the capacity to fight nor the will to stand up.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the "Xiao Ya: Qiao Yan" (Minor Odes: Cunning Words) section of the Shi Jing (Book of Songs), an ancient Chinese poetry collection compiled during the Zhou dynasty. The poem questions the identity of a disreputable person dwelling by the riverbank, describing him as "without strength, without courage" yet serving as the source of disorder. The phrase was originally used to criticize courtiers who stirred up trouble despite lacking any real merit or bravery.
💡 Example Usage
他无拳无勇，遇到不公之事也只能忍气吞声。
Having no strength and no courage, he could only swallow his anger when faced with injustice.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 无拳无勇
- Pinyin: wú quán wú yǒng
- Literal Translation: no fist, no courage
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4