📖 Meaning
This idiom describes the wasteful printing of useless, poorly written, or worthless books. In ancient China, pear and jujube wood were commonly used for woodblock printing, so printing bad books was seen as ruining fine wood for no good purpose.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from Ji Yun's (纪昀) 'Notes of the Thatched Abode of Close Observations' (《阅微草堂笔记》), written during the Qing Dynasty, Volume 6. Ji Yun lamented how scholars recklessly printed mediocre works to build their reputations, wasting precious woodblocks in the process. He compared this to the empty self-promotion seen in the late Ming Dynasty, where literary circles often praised unworthy works. The phrase '祸枣灾梨' (same meaning, reversed order) also appears in the same passage, and both forms are used interchangeably today.
💡 Example Usage
这种空洞无物的书，出版再多也是灾梨祸枣。
Books like this, empty of any real substance, are nothing but a waste of good wood no matter how many are printed.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 灾梨祸枣
- Pinyin: zāi lí huò zǎo
- Literal Translation: disaster to pear, calamity to jujube
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4