📖 Meaning
Like jade and stone being shattered together. It means the good and the bad perish together without distinction, describing a situation where the worthy and the unworthy suffer the same fate.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Jin dynasty scholar Yuan Hong's work 'Preface and Eulogies of Famous Ministers of the Three Kingdoms' (三国名臣序赞). The original phrase '沧海横流，玉石同碎' depicts a time of great turmoil when floodwaters overflow and jade and stone are shattered together. Yuan Hong used this metaphor to lament how, during periods of social upheaval, both the virtuous and the corrupt are destroyed alike with no distinction drawn between them.
💡 Example Usage
战乱之中，无辜百姓与恶徒玉石同碎，实属可悲。
Amid the chaos of war, innocent civilians and villains alike were destroyed together — a truly tragic outcome.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 玉石同碎
- Pinyin: yù shí tóng suì
- Literal Translation: jade, stone, together, shatter
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4