活剥生吞 — “To mechanically copy or imitate without understanding”
活剥生吞 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to mechanically copy or imitate without understanding”. To plagiarize or adopt uncritically. Literally, “To skin alive and swallow raw”.
活剥生吞 Pronunciation and Pinyin
活剥生吞 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 活剥生吞
Origin and Story of 活剥生吞
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, there was an official named Zhang Huaiqing in Zaoqiang, Hebei, who was unlearned but enjoyed dabbling in literature. He would take Li Yifu's five-character poems, add two characters to each line, and present them as his own seven-character poems, making people both laugh and cry at his absurdity.
When others witnessed him plagiarizing poems by Wang Changling and Guo Zhenyi, they coined a jingle to mock his blatant copying: 'Skin Wang Changling alive, swallow Guo Zhenyi raw.'
Idioms Related to 活剥生吞
More idioms starting with 活
- huó活bù不huó活，，sǐ死bù不sǐ死neither living nor dying
- huó活dào到lǎo老，，xué学dào到lǎo老Never too old to learn
- huó活tiān天yuān冤wang枉to suffer a grievous injustice
- huó活xué学huó活yòng用learn diligently and apply creatively
- huó活xíng形huó活xiàn现vivid and lifelike
- huó活po泼tiān天jī机unleash natural vitality and spirit
- huó活líng灵huó活xiàn现vivid and lifelike
- huó活xiàn现yǎn眼make a fool of oneself publicly
- huó活yǎn眼huó活xiàn现extremely lifelike and vivid
- huó活yǎn眼xiàn现bào报immediate retribution
- huó活shén神huó活xiàn现vivid and lifelike
- huó活bèng蹦luàn乱tiào跳active, lively, and full of vigor
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Open the tool →Questions about 活剥生吞
What does 活剥生吞 mean?
活剥生吞 (huó bō shēng tūn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to mechanically copy or imitate without understanding”.
How do you pronounce 活剥生吞?
活剥生吞 is pronounced huó bō shēng tūn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 活剥生吞 literally mean?
Literally, 活剥生吞 means “to skin alive and swallow raw”. It is used to mean “to mechanically copy or imitate without understanding”.
Where does 活剥生吞 come from?
活剥生吞 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 活剥生吞?
比喻机械地搬用或生硬地模仿。