不為五斗米折腰

See also: 不为五斗米折腰

Chinese

FWOTD – 7 September 2021

		not; no	because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become	five	ladle; dipper; small ladle; dipper; small; big; stars	rice; metre	to bow in obeisance
trad. (不為五斗米折腰/不爲五斗米折腰)		不	為/爲	五	斗	米	折腰
simp. (不为五斗米折腰)		不	为	五	斗	米	折腰
Literally: “to not bow down for the sake of five pecks (or decalitres) of rice”.

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！」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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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！」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

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!” [Pinyin]

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

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bù wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhéyāo

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄨㄟˋ ㄨˇ ㄉㄡˇ ㄇㄧˇ ㄓㄜˊ ㄧㄠ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ wai⁶ ng⁵ dau² mai⁵ zit³ jiu¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bù wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhéyāo [Phonetic: búwèiwúdóumǐzhéyāo]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄨㄟˋ ㄨˇ ㄉㄡˇ ㄇㄧˇ ㄓㄜˊ ㄧㄠ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bù wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ jhéyao
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴ wei⁴ wu³ tou³ mi³ chê²-yao¹
    • Yale: bù wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ jé-yāu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bu wey wuu doou mii jeriau
    • Palladius: бу вэй у доу ми чжэяо (bu vɛj u dou mi čžɛjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ weɪ̯⁵¹ u²¹⁴⁻³⁵ toʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ³⁵ jɑʊ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bat¹ wai⁶ ng⁵ dau² mai⁵ zit³ jiu¹
    • Yale: bāt waih ńgh dáu máih jit yīu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ wai⁶ ng⁵ dau² mai⁵ dzit⁸ jiu¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ wei⁶ ng⁵ deo² mei⁵ jid³ yiu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ wɐi̯²² ŋ̍¹³ tɐu̯³⁵ mɐi̯¹³ t͡siːt̚³ jiːu̯⁵⁵/

Idiom

不為五斗米折腰

1. 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