📖 Meaning
Literally to take up the coarse labor of drawing water from the well and tending the kitchen stove. It refers to managing household chores and by extension to being a wife or daughter-in-law. The idiom evokes the image of a woman willingly shouldering domestic duties.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Tang dynasty work 'Youyang Zazu' (酉阳杂俎) by Duan Chengshi. In the chapter 'Zhi Nuo Gao Zhong', a woman with no family to rely on tells a man named Wang Shen, 'Since I have nowhere to turn, I wish to take up the coarse work of the well and stove.' Moved by her words, Wang Shen immediately rented proper clothes and prepared wedding gifts to take her as his bride. The phrase thus came to symbolize a woman's willingness to manage a household.
💡 Example Usage
她嫁入王家后，甘愿执粗井灶，操持一家老小的饮食起居。
After marrying into the Wang family, she willingly took on the household chores, managing the daily meals and care of the entire family.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 执粗井灶
- Pinyin: zhí cū jǐng zào
- Literal Translation: take up, coarse work, well, stove
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4