📖 Meaning
A fatal disease located in the heart and abdomen—the most vital region of the body. Metaphorically refers to a grave hidden danger or threat from within that could prove fatal if left unaddressed. Equivalent in meaning to 心腹之疾.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single recorded origin story but draws from ancient Chinese medical thought, where ailments of the heart and abdomen—the body's core vital organs—were considered the most life-threatening. Classical texts such as the Book of Han and Records of the Grand Historian use similar phrasing to distinguish internal mortal threats from superficial external troubles. Over time the expression became a standard political metaphor for serious concealed dangers within a state or organization, as opposed to minor external annoyances.
💡 Example Usage
不解决腐败问题，它将成为国家的心腹之病。
If corruption is left unchecked, it will become a fatal threat at the very heart of the nation.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 心腹之病
- Pinyin: xīn fù zhī bìng
- Literal Translation: heart, abdomen, of, disease
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4