📖 Meaning
A humble phrase used to introduce one's own remarks. It compares one's own shallow or immature opinion to an ordinary brick tossed out in the hope that others will respond with far wiser, jade-like opinions. It is typically said to invite better ideas before offering a rough first take.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Northern Song Buddhist monk Shi Daoyuan's Jingde Chuandeng Lu (景德传灯录), compiled in the eleventh century, a foundational record of Chan Buddhist transmission stories. In volume ten a monk remarks, 'I came throwing a brick to attract jade, but instead I attracted a plummet' (比来抛砖引玉，却引得个坠子), meaning his modest attempt to draw out a precious reply had unexpectedly brought forth something of little value. The shorter and far more common form 抛砖引玉 (throwing a brick to attract jade) grew out of this same lineage and is the version most Chinese speakers use today.
💡 Example Usage
我的发言只是引玉之砖，希望能听到大家更高明的见解。
My remarks are just a humble brick to attract jade; I hope to hear everyone's far better insights.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 引玉之砖
- Pinyin: yǐn yù zhī zhuān
- Literal Translation: attract, jade, possessive, brick
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4