📖 Meaning
Even a rat at least has skin. This idiom uses the rat as a metaphor to remind people that even the lowliest creature possesses a covering and a sense of decency, so humans must likewise uphold shame and propriety. It is employed to criticize those who act without manners or moral integrity.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the poem 'Look at the Rat' (相鼠) in the 'Odes of Yong' (鄘风) section of the Classic of Poetry (诗经), China's oldest extant poetry anthology, compiled during the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 11th century–771 BCE). The poem satirizes people who lack ritual propriety and shame, declaring that even a rat has its skin, yet a person may be devoid of manners—and such a person deserves no better than death. The work reflects the Zhou-era conviction that ritual propriety (礼) is the bedrock of a civilized, moral society.
💡 Example Usage
他做出这种背信弃义的事，真是连相鼠有皮的道理都不懂。
By committing such an act of treachery, he shows he does not even grasp the basic principle that even a rat has its skin.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 相鼠有皮
- Pinyin: xiàng shǔ yǒu pí
- Literal Translation: look, rat, have, skin
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4