Delicate and delicious meat that everyone loves to eat. Now it refers to something good that is widely praised and celebrated, or to something that is known by many people, or to good poetry that is praised and celebrated by people.
Idiom Pronunciation:
脍炙人口
kuài zhì rén kǒu
Origin book:
战国·孟轲《孟子·尽心下》：公孙丑曰：“然则曾子何为食脍炙而不食羊枣？”曰：“脍炙所同也，羊枣所独也。讳名不讳姓，姓所同也，名所独也。”
Origin Story:
During the Spring and Autumn Period, among the disciples of the great educator Confucius, there were two fathers and sons of the Zeng clan in Nanwu City, the State of Lu. His father’s name was Point, the word Cai; his son’s name was Sen, the word Ziju. Both father and son were the best of Confucius’ disciples, and the father, Zeng Cai, was the representative of the scholars of his time who were indifferent to fame and fortune and aspired to a life of leisure, and he was once praised by Confucius for this aspiration. Zeng Cai had a very persistent hobby in food, he especially liked to eat small, round, purple and black dates.
This hobby of Zeng Cai left a deep impression on his son Zeng Shen. After Zeng Cai’s death, Zeng Sen was so saddened by the memory of his father that he could not bear to eat a single bite of the dates he loved during his lifetime. At that time, this incident was widely celebrated by Confucian disciples, who praised Zeng Sen as a model of filial piety.
During the Warring States period, Gongsun Chou, a disciple of Mencius, did not understand this incident and went to ask his teacher, Mencius, for advice. Gong Sun Chou came to Meng Zi’s residence, saluted his teacher very respectfully, and said, “Teacher, I come to visit you today because there is something I have never been able to understand the reason for it, and I have come to ask you for advice.”
Mencius said to Gongsun Chou in a pleasant manner, “Tell me if you have any doubts.” Gongsun Chou said, “Teacher, which do you think is more delicious, roast meat or dates?” “Of course roast meat is delicious, there is no one who does not love roast meat!” Gongsun Chou asked, “Since roast meat is delicious, then Zeng Shen and his father were both lovers of roast meat, so why did Zeng Shen not abstain from eating roast meat and only abstain from eating lamb dates? Can this show that he was filial-hearted?”
Mencius pondered for a while and patiently explained, “Exquisite and delicious roast meat is a kind of food that everyone loves to eat, but sheep dates are not as delicious as roast meat, but they are a food that Zeng Cai especially loves to eat. Therefore, Zeng Sen only abstained from eating dates for fear that it would cause him to miss his late father. It’s just like it’s taboo to call elders by their first names, not by their last names. People will have the same surname, but the name is unique to them.”
After listening to Mencius’ words, Gongsun Chou was enlightened and finally understood the filial heart of Zeng Shen who was thinking of his late father, and later people derived this idiom from Mencius’ words.
Similar Idioms:
- 喜闻乐见
- 交口称誉
