易子而食 — “To exchange children for food”
易子而食 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to exchange children for food”. To resort to cannibalism due to extreme famine and hardship, describing a state of utter destitution and suffering. Literally, “exchange children and eat”.
易子而食 Pronunciation and Pinyin
易子而食 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 易子而食
Origin and Story of 易子而食
During the Spring and Autumn period, King Zhuang of Chu waged war against the State of Song because Song had executed Chu's envoy, Shen Zhou.
Chu's army laid siege to the capital of Song for half a year, intending to continue the encirclement indefinitely. The people of Song were in great distress.
Their king dispatched Marshal Hua Yuan, who bravely infiltrated the bedroom of Chu's Marshal Zi Fan.
Hua Yuan confronted Zi Fan, declaring that the people of Song, facing extreme starvation, would rather resort to exchanging their children for food and burning human bones for fuel than surrender to Chu.
Idioms Related to 易子而食
Synonyms of 易子而食
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 易子而食
What does 易子而食 mean?
易子而食 (yì zǐ ér shí) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to exchange children for food”.
How do you pronounce 易子而食?
易子而食 is pronounced yì zǐ ér shí in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 易子而食 literally mean?
Literally, 易子而食 means “exchange children and eat”. It is used to mean “to exchange children for food”.
Where does 易子而食 come from?
易子而食 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 易子而食?
子：指儿女。原指春秋时宋国被围，城内粮尽，百姓交换子女以当食物。后形容灾民极其悲惨的生活。