








杵臼之交 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a friendship formed between individuals regardless of their social status or wealth, emphasizing a bond that transcends differences”. Literally, “Pestle and mortar friendship”.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Gongsha Mu, a scholar from Jiaodong, Shandong, lived in seclusion in Donglai Mountain to pursue his studies.
To fund his education, he wore coarse clothes and worked as a rice-pounding laborer at the residence of Official Wu in Chenliu Commandery.
Official Wu, noticing Gongsha Mu's extraordinary demeanor and conversation, befriended him and even sponsored his continued studies.
Later, Gongsha Mu completed his education and became an accomplished and upright official.

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Open the tool →杵臼之交 (chǔ jiù zhī jiāo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a friendship formed between individuals regardless of their social status or wealth, emphasizing a bond that transcends differences”.
杵臼之交 is pronounced chǔ jiù zhī jiāo in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 杵臼之交 means “Pestle and mortar friendship”. It is used to mean “a friendship formed between individuals regardless of their social status or wealth, emphasizing a bond that transcends differences”.
杵臼之交 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
杵:舂米的木棒;臼:石臼。比喻交朋友不计较贫富和身分。