投桃報李
Chinese edit
to throw; to send | peach | surname; plum | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (投桃報李) | 投 | 桃 | 報 | 李 | |
simp. (投桃报李) | 投 | 桃 | 报 | 李 | |
Literally: “toss a peach, get back a plum”. |
Etymology edit
From the Classic of Poetry, poem 256 (《詩經·大雅·抑》):
- 投我以桃,報之以李。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Tóu wǒ yǐ táo, bào zhī yǐ lǐ. [Pinyin]
- When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum.
投我以桃,报之以李。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation edit
Idiom edit
投桃報李