📖 Meaning
A polite expression meaning to help someone accomplish or bring something to completion. The term '玉成' carries a courteous, respectful tone, often used when requesting another's assistance in seeing a matter through to success.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Ming dynasty author Feng Menglong's 'Chronicles of the Eastern Kingdoms' (《东周列国志》), Chapter 8. In the story, an official offers two pairs of white jade and a hundred yi of gold as tribute, humbly asking a minister to help bring an affair to a successful conclusion. The use of 'jade' (玉) here is a polite honorific suggesting preciousness and respect. It later became a conventional courteous formula in classical and vernacular Chinese literature for entreating someone to assist in accomplishing a matter.
💡 Example Usage
还望先生从中周旋，玉成其事，在下感激不尽。
I hope, sir, you can mediate and help bring this matter to completion; I would be deeply grateful.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 玉成其事
- Pinyin: yù chéng qí shì
- Literal Translation: jade, complete, that, matter
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4