贪天之功 — “To arrogate to oneself the merits of others”

贪天之功 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to arrogate to oneself the merits of others”. To claim credit for achievements that belong to a collective or to heaven itself. Literally, “Covet heaven's achievements”.

Frequency

贪天之功 Pronunciation and Pinyin

贪天之功 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
贪	tān	8	greedy or covetous
天	tiān	4	sky, heaven, day, nature
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle
功	gōng	5	merit achievement work skill

Example Sentence with 贪天之功

小李的项目成功离不开所有同事的辛勤付出，如果他把所有荣誉都揽到自己身上，那无疑是贪天之功

Li's project success was inseparable from the hard work of all his colleagues; if he were to claim all the honor for himself, that would undoubtedly be taking credit for others' achievements.

Origin and Story of 贪天之功

During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, finally returned to Jin after a period of wandering and became the ruler. To reward his meritorious officials, he classified those who followed him in exile as first-class meritorious, those who helped him as second-class, and those who welcomed his return as third-class. Zhao Shuai, Hu Yan, and others who followed him in exile were granted fiefdoms if they didn't have any, or had their existing ones expanded. Others who helped or welcomed him were all rewarded, even small ministers and servants received money, and everyone was happy.

Duke Wen then posted an edict: "If anyone has been overlooked, please come forward and report." A man named Jie Zitui was overlooked. His neighbor saw the edict and came to find Jie Zitui. Seeing him weaving straw sandals at home, the neighbor said, "You don't need to do this anymore. Duke Wen has issued an edict seeking meritorious people. As soon as you show up, the Duke will remember your good deeds and reward you according to your contributions." Jie Zitui smiled without answering.

His mother said, "You followed Duke Wen for nineteen years in exile. When he was starving, you cut a piece of flesh from your thigh to make soup for him. Even if you don't have 'merit,' you certainly have 'hardship.' Why don't you go see him?" Zitui said, "I have nothing to ask of Duke Wen, so why should I go?"

The neighbor said, "If you go, you might get an official position, or at least some cloth and rice, saving you from weaving straw sandals every day." Zitui said, "Duke Xian of Jin had nine sons, but only our lord is the most virtuous. Jin belongs to our lord, this is Heaven's will. Yet, some people mistakenly believe it's their own achievement. Stealing others' property is called thievery. Going to Duke Wen to claim credit and seek rewards is tantamount to appropriating Heaven's achievements for oneself, which is even more shameful. I would rather weave straw sandals my whole life than contend for this credit."

After the neighbor left, his mother said, "You are an incorruptible person, and I am the mother of an incorruptible person. Why don't we go into seclusion?" That night, Jie Zitui carried his mother and hid in Mianshan Mountain.