方寸之地 — “One's heart or mind”
方寸之地 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “One's heart or mind”. One's inner thoughts and feelings. Literally, “A square inch of space”.
方寸之地 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 方fāng
- 寸cùn
- 之zhī
- 地dì
方寸之地 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 方寸之地
Origin and Story of 方寸之地
Xu Shu was a strategist for Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was resourceful, decisive, and could predict things like a god, earning Liu Bei's deep trust. Once, Xu Shu deciphered Cao Cao's 'Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation' and thoroughly defeated Cao Cao's forces.
Cao Ren, a general under Cao Cao, was unwilling to accept defeat and secretly led troops to attack Xinye at night. Xu Shu had anticipated this and seized the opportunity to infiltrate Fancheng when Cao Ren left it. As a result, Fancheng fell.
Cao Ren retreated to Xuchang, feeling ashamed before Cao Cao. Cao Cao remarked, 'Liu Bei must have a capable person planning for him!' Cao Cao discovered it was Xu Shu and wanted to trick him into coming to Xuchang to keep him by his side.
They forged a letter in Xu Shu's mother's handwriting. When Xu Shu saw the letter and learned his aged mother was held in Xuchang, he had no choice but to tearfully bid farewell to Liu Bei. Xu Shu said, 'Now that I have lost my aged mother, my mind is in turmoil (方寸乱矣), and I can be of no help. I must take my leave now!'
Idioms Related to 方寸之地
Synonyms of 方寸之地
More idioms starting with 方
- fāng方zhang丈yíng盈qián前an extremely extravagant and luxurious feast
- fāng方yǐ以lèi类jù聚Like attracts like
- fāng方yǐ以lèi类jù聚，，wù物yǐ以qún群fēn分Like attracts like
- fāng方biàn便zhī之mén门a convenient way to do something
- fāng方biàn便mén门convenient way or accessible approach
- fāng方xīng兴wèi未yǐ已still developing and flourishing
- fāng方xīng兴wèi未ài艾still developing vigorously
- fāng方záo凿yuán圆ruì枘incompatible or ill-suited
- fāng方yuán员kě可shī施versatile and adaptable
- fāng方mìng命pǐ圮zú族defy orders and harm kin
- fāng方yuán圆kě可shī施versatile and adaptable
- fāng方yuán圆shū殊qù趣different things have distinct characteristics
Questions about 方寸之地
- What does 方寸之地 mean?
- 方寸之地 (fāng cùn zhī dì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “One's heart or mind”.
- How do you pronounce 方寸之地?
- 方寸之地 is pronounced fāng cùn zhī dì in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 方寸之地 literally mean?
- Literally, 方寸之地 means “a square inch of space”. It is used to mean “One's heart or mind”.
- Where does 方寸之地 come from?
- 方寸之地 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 方寸之地?
- 指心。