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不為五斗米折腰. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
不為五斗米折腰, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
不為五斗米折腰 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Chinese
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not; no
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because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become |
five
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ladle; dipper; small ladle; dipper; small; big; stars |
rice; metre
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to bow in obeisance
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| trad. (不為五斗米折腰/不爲五斗米折腰)
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不
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為/爲
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五
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斗
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米
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折腰
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| simp. (不为五斗米折腰)
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不
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为
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五
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斗
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米
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折腰
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| Literally: “to not bow down for the sake of five pecks (or decalitres) of rice”.
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Etymology
From the Book of Jin Volume 94 Biographies of Hermits and Recluses "Tao Qian" (《晉書·卷九四·隱逸傳·陶潛》)：
郡遣督郵至縣，吏白「應束帶見之」，潛歎曰：「吾不能爲五斗米折腰，拳拳事鄉里小人邪！」
郡遣督邮至县，吏白「应束带见之」，潜叹曰：「吾不能为五斗米折腰，拳拳事乡里小人邪！」 - From: 648 CE, Fang Xuanling (lead editor), Book of Jin
- Jùn qiǎn dūyóu zhì xiàn, lì bái “yīng shùdài jiàn zhī”, Qián tàn yuē: “Wú bùnéng wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhéyāo, quánquán shì xiānglǐ xiǎorén yé!”
- The commandery sent a postal inspector to the county (where Tao Qian worked as the county magistrate), and an official (subordinate to Tao Qian) suggested: "You should wear formal clothes to see him." Qian sighed: "I cannot bow down for the sake of five pecks of rice and flatter a base person!"
Pronunciation
Idiom
不為五斗米折腰
- to not compromise one's integrity just to earn a small salary in a dead-end job; to not sacrifice one's ideals in order to make a living