卖刀买牛 — “Sell swords, buy oxen”
卖刀买牛 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to abandon military pursuits or a life of conflict and embrace peaceful, productive work, especially agriculture; to turn over a new leaf and dedicate oneself to constructive endeavors”. Literally, “Sell swords, buy oxen”.
卖刀买牛 Pronunciation and Pinyin
卖刀买牛 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 卖刀买牛
Origin and Story of 卖刀买牛
During the Western Han Dynasty, farmers in the Bohai region were forced to become bandits due to famine. Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, appointed Gong Sui, who was over 70 years old, as the Administrator of Bohai.
Upon taking office, Gong Sui vigorously declared that anyone who abandoned banditry to engage in agricultural production would be pardoned for their past actions. He opened granaries to lend grain and relieve the starving populace.
Consequently, these people sold their swords to buy oxen, dedicated themselves to farming, and lived in peace and contentment.
Idioms Related to 卖刀买牛
Synonyms of 卖刀买牛
Antonyms of 卖刀买牛
More idioms starting with 卖
- mài卖zhǔ主qiú求róng荣betray master for personal gain
- mài卖guāi乖nòng弄qiào俏show off cleverness and feign charm
- mài卖qiào俏yǐ倚mén门flaunt charm to solicit customers
- mài卖qiào俏yíng营jiān奸use charm to commit wickedness
- mài卖qiào俏xíng行jiān奸flaunt charms and commit adultery
- mài卖qiào俏yíng迎jiān奸flirt to entice illicit acts
- mài卖ér儿tiē贴fù妇sell children and wife due to poverty
- mài卖ér儿yù鬻nǚ女sell children due to extreme poverty
- mài卖gōng公yíng营sī私betray public trust for private gain
- mài卖jiàn剑mǎi买dú犊give up fighting for farming
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Open the tool →Questions about 卖刀买牛
What does 卖刀买牛 mean?
卖刀买牛 (mài dāo mǎi niú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to abandon military pursuits or a life of conflict and embrace peaceful, productive work, especially agriculture; to turn over a new leaf and dedicate oneself to constructive endeavors”.
How do you pronounce 卖刀买牛?
卖刀买牛 is pronounced mài dāo mǎi niú in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 卖刀买牛 literally mean?
Literally, 卖刀买牛 means “Sell swords, buy oxen”. It is used to mean “to abandon military pursuits or a life of conflict and embrace peaceful, productive work, especially agriculture; to turn over a new leaf and dedicate oneself to constructive endeavors”.
Where does 卖刀买牛 come from?
卖刀买牛 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 卖刀买牛?
刀：武器。指卖掉武器，从事农业生产