易子析骸 — “To exchange children to eat them and burn human bones for fuel”
易子析骸 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to exchange children to eat them and burn human bones for fuel”. Describes a situation of extreme famine, destitution, and cannibalism caused by severe disaster or war. Literally, “Exchange children to eat, split bones to cook”.
易子析骸 Pronunciation and Pinyin
易子析骸 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 易子析骸
Origin and Story of 易子析骸
During the Spring and Autumn period, King Zhuang of Chu launched an attack on the State of Song because Song had killed Shen Zhou, an envoy from Chu who was passing through their territory.
The Chu army besieged the capital of Song for half a year and prepared to continue the siege indefinitely.
Frightened by this, the King of Song dispatched his marshal, Hua Yuan, to stealthily infiltrate the bedroom of Zi Fan, the Chu marshal. Holding Zi Fan hostage, Hua Yuan declared that the people of Song would rather exchange their children to eat and burn human bones for fuel than surrender.
Idioms Related to 易子析骸
Synonyms of 易子析骸
More idioms starting with 易
- yì易yú于fǎn反shǒu手extremely easy, like turning one's hand
- yì易yú于fǎn反zhǎng掌as easy as turning over one's hand
- yì易yú于shí拾yí遗extremely easy to do
- yì易sú俗yí移fēng风change customs and transform society
- yì易kǒu口yǐ以shí食exchange children for food
- yì易tóng同fǎn反zhǎng掌easy as turning over one's hand
- yì易dì地zé则jiē皆rán然In the same situation, all would be the same
- yì易dì地jiē皆rán然same under different circumstances
- yì易dì地ér而chǔ处put oneself in another's shoes
- yì易rú如fǎn反zhǎng掌extremely easy to do
- yì易rú如shí拾jiè芥as easy as picking up mustard seeds
- yì易rú如pò破zhú竹as easy as splitting bamboo
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Open the tool →Questions about 易子析骸
What does 易子析骸 mean?
易子析骸 (yì zi xī hái) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to exchange children to eat them and burn human bones for fuel”.
How do you pronounce 易子析骸?
易子析骸 is pronounced yì zi xī hái in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 易子析骸 literally mean?
Literally, 易子析骸 means “Exchange children to eat, split bones to cook”. It is used to mean “to exchange children to eat them and burn human bones for fuel”.
Where does 易子析骸 come from?
易子析骸 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 易子析骸?
指易子而食，析骸而爨。极言天灾人祸所造成的惨状。