To provide timely help or relief to someone in dire need; to offer crucial assistance in one's hour of difficulty, like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
The idiom "Xue Zhong Song Tan" originated from a poem by Fan Chengda (范成大), a renowned poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. Fan Chengda was famous for his numerous popular poems. In his later years, he retired to his hometown of Shihu, adopting the pen name 'Shihu Jushi' (Lay Buddhist of Stone Lake). His collected works were compiled into "Shihu Jushi Shiji" (Collected Poems of Shihu Jushi). Among them is a poem titled "Da Xue Song Tan Yu Jie Yin" (Sending Charcoal in Heavy Snow to Jie Yin).
This poem contains the lines: "不是雪中须送炭，聊装风景要诗来。" which translates to, "It's not that charcoal must be sent in the snow; rather, it's merely to adorn the scene and invite a poem."
Although the poem initially used the imagery to describe an artistic gesture, the phrase "雪中送炭" later evolved into an idiom that vividly describes providing timely and essential material or spiritual assistance to someone in dire need, much like offering charcoal for warmth during a snowstorm.