📖 Meaning
To dismember a body by separating limbs and joints, literally cutting someone to pieces. It is a vivid expression equivalent to 'chopping into a thousand pieces.' The idiom conveys utter destruction of a body, often used in contexts of extreme vengeance or violent retribution.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Han dynasty text 'Han Ji' (汉纪) by Xun Yue, specifically in the 'Annals of Emperor Ping' (平帝纪). It describes the aftermath of Wang Mang's death, when the soldier Gongsun Binjiu beheaded Wang Mang and the troops scrambled over his body, tearing it apart limb by limb and joint by joint, slicing the flesh into fragments. A parallel account in the 'Book of Han' (汉书·王莽传下) records the name as 'Gongbin Jiu' instead of 'Gongsun Binjiu.'
💡 Example Usage
叛贼被擒后，百姓无不恨之入骨，恨不得将其支纷节解以泄心头之愤。
After the rebel was captured, the people hated him to the bone and wished to tear him limb from joint to vent their fury.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 支纷节解
- Pinyin: zhī fēn jié jiě
- Literal Translation: limbs scatter, joints separate
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4