📖 Meaning
When one adjusts one's garment, the elbow shows through a torn sleeve; when one tugs on one's shoe, the heel pops out through a split. It describes a state of extreme poverty, where one's clothes and shoes are so worn out that they can no longer cover the body properly.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from 'Zhuangzi: Rang Wang' (《庄子·让王》), a chapter in the Daoist classic compiled during the Warring States period. It describes Zengzi (曾子), a disciple of Confucius, who lived in such poverty that he went three days without lighting a fire to cook and ten years without making new clothes. When he straightened his hat, the chin-strap broke; when he pulled his collar, his elbow showed through; when he put on his shoes, his heel stuck out. Despite this destitution, he sang the Odes with a cheerful voice, embodying the Daoist ideal of inner contentment untroubled by material hardship.
💡 Example Usage
他晚年穷困潦倒，踵决肘见，却仍坚持著书立说。
In his later years he was utterly destitute, his clothes so tattered that his elbows and heels showed through, yet he persisted in writing and teaching.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 踵决肘见
- Pinyin: zhǒng jué zhǒu jiàn
- Literal Translation: heel, split, elbow, show
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4