📖 Meaning
A beggar warming himself by a fire. A metaphor for someone who curries favor with the powerful, clinging to those in authority for personal warmth and advantage. It criticizes sycophants who abandon their benefactors the moment that power fades.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi" (Reminiscences of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao Eras), written during the Five Dynasties period. The text remarks that the court officials of the time were all like beggars warming themselves by a fire, and asks: once the fire burns out and the ashes grow cold, where will the warmth be? This was a pointed satire of officials who attached themselves to those in power for personal gain, with no loyalty that would survive a loss of influence.
💡 Example Usage
朝中多向火乞儿，一旦火尽灰冷，便无人肯来。
The court is full of fire-warming beggars; once the fire dies and the ashes grow cold, no one is willing to come near.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 向火乞儿
- Pinyin: xiàng huǒ qǐ ér
- Literal Translation: face, fire, beggar
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4