肉袒面缚 — “To bare one's upper body and have one's hands tied behind the back”
肉袒面缚 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to bare one's upper body and have one's hands tied behind the back”. Symbolizing complete surrender and submission. Literally, “bare one's torso, hands tied behind”.
肉袒面缚 Pronunciation and Pinyin
肉袒面缚 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 肉袒面缚
Origin and Story of 肉袒面缚
At the end of the Shang Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou led his army to attack and conquer Yin, the Shang capital.
As victory was imminent, Weizi, a powerful official of the Shang Dynasty, went to the Zhou army camp with his upper body bared and his hands tied behind his back. He held a lamb in his left hand and a bundle of straw (symbolizing an offering) in his right, and advanced on his knees before King Wu.
He presented the sacrificial vessels of the Shang Dynasty and expressed his deep apologies.
Seeing his sincere act of surrender, King Wu ordered Weizi's release and reinstated him to his former position.
Idioms Related to 肉袒面缚
Synonyms of 肉袒面缚
More idioms starting with 肉
- ròu肉zhōng中cì刺a thorn in the flesh
- ròu肉pǔ圃jiǔ酒chí池extreme luxury with excessive food and drink
- ròu肉shān山pú脯lín林extreme luxury and extravagance
- ròu肉shān山jiǔ酒hǎi海lavish banquets with abundant food and drink
- ròu肉bó搏zhàn战hand-to-hand combat
- ròu肉lín林jiǔ酒chí池extreme luxury and extravagance
- ròu肉yǎn眼fán凡fū夫ordinary person lacking spiritual insight
- ròu肉yǎn眼fán凡tāi胎ordinary human with limited insight
- ròu肉yǎn眼yú愚méi眉to have limited insight
- ròu肉zhú竹cáo嘈zá杂noisy vocal and instrumental music
- ròu肉bó薄gǔ骨bìng并fierce close-quarters combat
- ròu肉tǎn袒qiān牵yáng羊surrender in submission and beg for mercy
Recommended tools
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →Questions about 肉袒面缚
What does 肉袒面缚 mean?
肉袒面缚 (ròu tǎn miàn fù) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to bare one's upper body and have one's hands tied behind the back”.
How do you pronounce 肉袒面缚?
肉袒面缚 is pronounced ròu tǎn miàn fù in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 肉袒面缚 literally mean?
Literally, 肉袒面缚 means “bare one's torso, hands tied behind”. It is used to mean “to bare one's upper body and have one's hands tied behind the back”.
Where does 肉袒面缚 come from?
肉袒面缚 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 肉袒面缚?
肉袒：去衣露体，表示愿受责罚；面缚：两手反绑面对胜利者，表示放弃抵抗。脱去上衣，反缚着手。形容顺从投降。