敝帚千金 — “To highly treasure one's own humble or seemingly worthless possessions”
敝帚千金 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to highly treasure one's own humble or seemingly worthless possessions”. Literally, “A broken broom, a thousand pieces of gold”.
Frequency
敝帚千金 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 敝bì
- 帚zhǒu
- 千qiān
- 金jīn
敝帚千金 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 敝帚千金
这本我从小读到大的旧书，虽然封面破损，纸张泛黄，但我依然把它当作敝帚千金，因为它承载了我无数美好童年回忆。
This old book, which I've read since childhood, although its cover is torn and pages yellowed, I still treat it as a cherished old broom, because it holds countless beautiful childhood memories for me.
Origin and Story of 敝帚千金
In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu sent Grand Marshal Wu Han and General Zhengnan Cen Peng to attack Gongsun Shu, who had declared himself emperor in Chengdu.
The Han army advanced swiftly, and after a desperate struggle with Gongsun Shu's forces, finally captured Chengdu. Wu Han then ordered a massacre of the city.
Liu Xiu severely reprimanded him, stating that even a broken broom in a common household was as precious as a thousand pieces of gold to its owner, and that plundering their possessions would cause them to lose the hearts of the people.
Idioms Related to 敝帚千金
Synonyms of 敝帚千金
Antonyms of 敝帚千金
More idioms starting with 敝
- bì敝zhǒu帚zì自xiǎng享cherish one's own humble possessions
- bì敝wéi帷bù不qì弃Don't discard old things; they can still be useful
- bì敝gài盖bù不qì弃Don't discard old things; they still have use
- bì敝tì綈è恶sù粟live on coarse food and in shabby clothes
- bì敝tí绨è恶sù粟live a frugal or impoverished life
- bì敝yī衣xiāo枵fù腹in rags and hungry
- bì敝yī衣lì粝shí食live in extreme poverty
- bì敝chē车léi羸mǎ马simple, frugal, and unostentatious lifestyle
- bì敝gǔ鼓sàng丧tún豚futile effort
Questions about 敝帚千金
- What does 敝帚千金 mean?
- 敝帚千金 (bì zhǒu qiān jīn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to highly treasure one's own humble or seemingly worthless possessions”.
- How do you pronounce 敝帚千金?
- 敝帚千金 is pronounced bì zhǒu qiān jīn in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 敝帚千金 literally mean?
- Literally, 敝帚千金 means “a broken broom, a thousand pieces of gold”. It is used to mean “to highly treasure one's own humble or seemingly worthless possessions”.
- Where does 敝帚千金 come from?
- 敝帚千金 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 敝帚千金?
- 一把破扫帚，当千金那样贵重。比喻东西虽不好，但自己十分珍惜。