截发留宾 — “Cut hair to entertain guests”
截发留宾 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to go to great lengths or make significant personal sacrifices to show hospitality to a guest; often used to commend a virtuous host, especially a mother, for their extreme generosity”. Literally, “Cut hair to entertain guests”.
截发留宾 Pronunciation and Pinyin
截发留宾 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 截发留宾
Origin and Story of 截发留宾
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Fan Kui, a filial son from Fanyang, sought lodging at Tao Kan's home.
Tao Kan was well-known, but his family was poor, living a hard life with his mother, Mrs. Zhan. Tao Kan was worried about how to host the guest.
Mrs. Zhan cut off her long hair and asked her son to sell it in the market to buy several measures of rice. She also chopped wooden pillars and burned straw mats to provide for the guest.
Fan Kui was deeply impressed and filled with admiration for their hospitality.
Idioms Related to 截发留宾
Synonyms of 截发留宾
More idioms starting with 截
- jié截fā发cuò剉gǎo稾virtuous mother's hospitality
- jié截fā发cuò锉gǎo藳entertain guests with utmost sincerity
- jié截duàn断zhòng众liú流possess profound transcendent insight
- jié截rán然bù不tóng同completely different
- jié截jìng胫pōu剖xīn心inflict brutal suffering on people
- jié截zhǐ趾shì适lǚ履force to conform, often to detriment
- jié截zhǐ趾shì适jù屦make unreasonable self-damaging compromise
- jié截zhǐ趾shì適lǚ履force to fit by unsuitable alteration
- jié截yuán辕dù杜pèi辔obstruct someone's path
- jié截tiě铁zhǎn斩dìng钉firm and resolute
- jié截dèng镫liú留biān鞭reluctantly bid farewell to a departing dignitary
- jié截cháng长bǔ补duǎn短leverage strengths to compensate for weaknesses
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Open the tool →Questions about 截发留宾
What does 截发留宾 mean?
截发留宾 (jié fā liú bīn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to go to great lengths or make significant personal sacrifices to show hospitality to a guest; often used to commend a virtuous host, especially a mother, for their extreme generosity”.
How do you pronounce 截发留宾?
截发留宾 is pronounced jié fā liú bīn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 截发留宾 literally mean?
Literally, 截发留宾 means “Cut hair to entertain guests”. It is used to mean “to go to great lengths or make significant personal sacrifices to show hospitality to a guest; often used to commend a virtuous host, especially a mother, for their extreme generosity”.
Where does 截发留宾 come from?
截发留宾 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 截发留宾?
以之为贤母好客的典故。