人非木石 — “People are not insensitive”

人非木石 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “People are not insensitive”. They have feelings and can be affected or moved by circumstances and emotions, unlike inanimate objects. Literally, “Man is not wood or stone”.

Frequency

人非木石 Pronunciation and Pinyin

人非木石 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
人	rén	2	human being, person
非	fēi	8	not, non-, wrong
木	mù	4	tree, wood, wooden, dull, numb
石	shí	5	Rock, stone

Example Sentence with 人非木石

听到这个感人的故事，即使是平时不苟言笑的他，也禁不住眼眶湿润，毕竟人非木石

Upon hearing this touching story, even he, who usually doesn't smile, couldn't help but get teary-eyed; after all, human beings are not made of wood or stone.

Origin and Story of 人非木石

During the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian, a renowned historian, was subjected to castration and imprisoned for defending General Li Ling, who had surrendered after a failed campaign against the Xiongnu.

Facing this immense humiliation, he wrote to his friend Ren An, lamenting his misfortune: 'My body is not made of wood or stone; I am alone with jailers in this deep, dark prison. To whom can I confide?'