余桃啖君 — “Leftover peach fed to the lord”
余桃啖君 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe a person whose affections or judgments are highly inconsistent and prone to sudden changes, often shifting between favor and disfavor without objective reason”. Literally, “Leftover peach fed to the lord”.
余桃啖君 Pronunciation and Pinyin
余桃啖君 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 余桃啖君
Origin and Story of 余桃啖君
During the Warring States period, Lord Wei deeply favored Mizi Xia.
One day, Mizi Xia's mother fell ill, and he secretly drove Lord Wei's chariot home to visit her. According to the law, this act should have resulted in his feet being cut off. However, Lord Wei, instead of punishing him, praised him, saying he was filial.
Another time, while strolling in a peach orchard with Lord Wei, Mizi Xia ate half a peach and then gave the remaining half to Lord Wei. Lord Wei, again, praised him, saying he was loyal because he shared his delicious peach with his lord.
Later, as Mizi Xia's beauty faded and Lord Wei's affection waned, Mizi Xia fell out of favor. Lord Wei then used these very two incidents to accuse him and punish him, saying, "Didn't he once steal my chariot and give me a half-eaten peach?"
The interpretation of Mizi Xia's actions changed drastically with the shift in the lord's feelings.
Idioms Related to 余桃啖君
More idioms starting with 余
- yú余yè业yí遗liè烈lasting legacy of one's contributions
- yú余guāng光fēn分rén人share incidental benefits without extra effort
- yú余yǒng勇kě可gǔ贾still have strength to expend
- yú余wèi味wú无qióng穷endless lingering taste
- yú余xiǎng响rào绕liáng梁lingering sound circling the beam
- yú余shēng声sān三rì日Lingering sound for three days
- yú余miào妙rào绕liáng梁beautiful music lingers in the air
- yú余zǐ子lù碌lù碌All others are mediocre
- yú余bēi杯lěng冷zhì炙leftovers from a feast
- yú余bō波wèi未píng平lingering effects still felt
- yú余jìn烬fù复rán燃old evils resurface
- yú余xīng腥cán残huì秽foul-smelling food scraps
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Open the tool →Questions about 余桃啖君
What does 余桃啖君 mean?
余桃啖君 (yú táo dàn jūn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe a person whose affections or judgments are highly inconsistent and prone to sudden changes, often shifting between favor and disfavor without objective reason”.
How do you pronounce 余桃啖君?
余桃啖君 is pronounced yú táo dàn jūn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 余桃啖君 literally mean?
Literally, 余桃啖君 means “Leftover peach fed to the lord”. It is used to mean “to describe a person whose affections or judgments are highly inconsistent and prone to sudden changes, often shifting between favor and disfavor without objective reason”.
Where does 余桃啖君 come from?
余桃啖君 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 余桃啖君?
比喻爱憎喜怒无常。