蛇珠雀环 — “Grateful repayment for kindness”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 蛇珠雀环?

指大蛇衔明珠、黄雀衔白环报恩

蛇珠雀环 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Grateful repayment for kindness”. Often involving precious gifts, inspired by legends of a snake bringing a pearl and an oriole bringing white rings to repay their benefactors. Literally, “Snake's pearl, oriole's rings”.

Frequency

蛇珠雀环 Pronunciation and Pinyin

蛇珠雀环 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
蛇	shé	11	snake, compliant, tactful
珠	zhū	10	Pearl or bead
雀	què	11	sparrow or small bird
环	huán	8	ring, surround, link

Example Sentence with 蛇珠雀环

他帮助过许多人，后来得到的回报，正如蛇珠雀环一般，都带着一份深厚的情谊和珍贵的礼物。

He had helped many people, and the rewards he later received, like the snake's pearl and the oriole's rings, all carried deep friendship and precious gifts.

Origin and Story of 蛇珠雀环

Legend has it that Sui Hou, while traveling, saw a large snake with its body severed in the middle due to injury. He applied medicine and saved its life. The following year, the snake returned, carrying a luminous pearl to repay his kindness.

Similarly, when Yang Bao was young, he saw a yellow oriole wounded by an owl. Yang Bao took the oriole home and nursed its injuries. Once healed, the oriole flew away. The next day, a child dressed in yellow garments appeared, bringing four white jade rings to repay Yang Bao.