懷璧其罪
Chinese
his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
guilt; crime; fault guilt; crime; fault; blame; sin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (懷璧其罪) | 懷璧 | 其 | 罪 | |
| simp. (怀璧其罪) | 怀璧 | 其 | 罪 | |
| Literally: “treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime”. | ||||
Etymology
- 初，虞叔有玉，虞公求旃。弗獻。既而悔之。曰：「周諺有之：『匹夫無罪，懷璧其罪。』吾焉用此，其以賈害也？」乃獻。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Chū, Yú Shū yǒu yù, Yú Gōng qiú zhān. Fú xiàn. Jì ér huǐ zhī. Yuē: “Zhōu yàn yǒu zhī: ‘Pǐfū wú zuì, huái bì qí zuì.’ Wú yān yòng cǐ, qí yǐ gǔ hài yě?” Nǎi xiàn. [Pinyin]
- The 3rd brother of the duke of Yu had a valuable piece of jade, which the duke asked of him. He refused it, but afterwards repented, saying, "There is the proverb in Zhou, 'A man may have no crime; — that he keeps his bi is his crime.' This jade is of no use to me; — shall I buy my hurt with it?" He then presented it to the duke.
初，虞叔有玉，虞公求旃。弗献。既而悔之。曰：“周谚有之：‘匹夫无罪，怀璧其罪。’吾焉用此，其以贾害也？”乃献。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Idiom
懷璧其罪
Derived terms
- 匹夫無罪，懷璧其罪／匹夫无罪，怀璧其罪
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