To court disaster willingly; to rush headlong into destruction; like a moth flying into a flame, seeking its own doom.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
During the Southern Dynasties Liang period, Dao Jin, a talented scholar, was the grandson of Dao Gai, who held the title of Grand Master of Shining Gold and Chief Controller of the Court. Dao Jin was highly favored by Emperor Xiao Yan, often composing poetry with him.
Emperor Xiao Yan once bestowed a special poem upon Dao Jin's grandfather, Dao Gai. The poem contained the lines: "Grinding ink to produce literature, with a flying brush to write letters, like a moth flying into a flame, how can one begrudge the burning of one's body? Now that old age has certainly come, this task can be entrusted to young Jin."
These lines, particularly "like a moth flying into a flame," later became the source of the idiom, evolving to describe willingly courting disaster or destruction, even though in the original poem, it conveyed a sense of passionate dedication to one's craft, unmindful of personal sacrifice.