采薪之患 — “A polite euphemism for a minor indisposition or slight illness”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 采薪之患?

病了不能打柴。自称有病的婉辞。

采薪之患 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a polite euphemism for a minor indisposition or slight illness”. Implying one is too unwell to perform even simple tasks like gathering firewood. Literally, “Trouble of gathering firewood”.

Frequency

采薪之患 Pronunciation and Pinyin

采薪之患 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
采	cǎi	8	pick, gather, extract, collect
薪	xīn	16	Firewood for passing on tradition
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle
患	huàn	11	suffer from illness or disaster

Example Sentence with 采薪之患

近日天气多变，我偶感风寒，略有采薪之患，恐无法赴约了。

The weather has been quite changeable recently; I've caught a slight cold, experiencing a minor indisposition, and thus might not be able to make it to our appointment.

Origin and Story of 采薪之患

Life in Grand View Garden, filled with daily feasting and merriment, had become a bit monotonous.

While experiencing a slight indisposition (采薪之患), Tan Chun had a sudden inspiration: to organize a poetry society to while away the dull hours. She then wrote to Bao Yu, Dai Yu, Bao Chai, and others, inviting them to participate. Bao Yu, who particularly enjoyed composing and reciting poems, gladly accepted, and so they formed the seven-member Begonia Society.