杀马毁车 — “To abandon one's official post and retreat into reclusion”
杀马毁车 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to abandon one's official post and retreat into reclusion”. To give up a public career for a solitary life. Literally, “Kill horses and destroy chariots”.
杀马毁车 Pronunciation and Pinyin
杀马毁车 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 杀马毁车
Origin and Story of 杀马毁车
During the Han Dynasty, Feng Liang, at the age of 30, served as a subordinate official. He detested being dictated to in his official capacity.
One day, he was ordered to welcome a postal supervisor. Along the journey, he was filled with profound emotions. Due to the poor road conditions, his chariot broke down.
He simply abandoned the chariot, even killed his horse, took off his official robes, and from then on, retreated to Jianwei.
He studied under Du Fu, living the life of a recluse.
Idioms Related to 杀马毁车
Synonyms of 杀马毁车
More idioms starting with 杀
- shā杀yī一jǐng儆bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一lì利bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一lì砺bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一jǐng警bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀rén人bù不yòng用dāo刀destroy reputation without violence
- shā杀rén人bù不zhǎ眨yǎn眼ruthless and merciless killer
- shā杀rén人bù不jiàn见xuè血harm insidiously without trace
- shā杀rén人cháng偿mìng命，，qiàn欠zhài债huán还qián钱Life for a life, debt for a debt
- shā杀rén人jié劫cái财kill people and rob property
- shā杀rén人rú如jiè芥slaughter people like weeds
- shā杀rén人rú如cǎo草slaughter people like grass
- shā杀rén人rú如hāo蒿slaughter people on a massive scale
Recommended tools
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →Questions about 杀马毁车
What does 杀马毁车 mean?
杀马毁车 (shā mǎ huǐ chē) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to abandon one's official post and retreat into reclusion”.
How do you pronounce 杀马毁车?
杀马毁车 is pronounced shā mǎ huǐ chē in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 杀马毁车 literally mean?
Literally, 杀马毁车 means “Kill horses and destroy chariots”. It is used to mean “to abandon one's official post and retreat into reclusion”.
Where does 杀马毁车 come from?
杀马毁车 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 杀马毁车?
比喻弃官归隐。