Idiom Explanation:
Describe someone who treats someone with the utmost respect.
Pronunciation:
毕恭毕敬
bì gōng bì jìng
Origin:
《诗经·小雅·小弁》：“维桑与梓，必恭敬止，靡瞻匪父，靡依匪母。”
Story:
The last ruler of the Western Zhou Dynasty of China was King Ji Guanye of the Zhou Dynasty. This man was lethargic, tyrannical and politically corrupt.
In 779 B.C., a beautiful woman named Si was offered by the state of Bao Si. King Yu of Zhou doted on her. The king could not make her smile with music, dance and delicacies. Someone suggested a plan to light the beacon of alarm and invite the soldiers and horses of various lords to make them fall for it, so as to make Bao Si smile, and King You readily agreed. He took Bao Si to the palace to play, the night of the order to light the beacon, the vassal lords see the smoke, thought it was a bandit invasion of the capital, have led the troops to come to the rescue. When they arrived, they saw the King of You drinking and having fun. King You sent someone to say to them, “There are no bandits and pirates, let you work hard!”
The vassals were deceived and came and went in a hurry. Bao Si couldn’t help but laugh at this, and King You was also very happy. Bao Si gave birth to a son named Bo Su, and King Yu abolished Queen Shen and made Bao Si the queen; he abolished Prince Yi Su, who was born to Queen Shen, and made Bo Su the crown prince.
Yisu was deposed and lived in the house of his maternal grandfather, Marquis Shen. He was filled with sorrow and pain about his fate and the future of his country, and wrote a poem entitled “Xiaobian” to express his feelings. The third stanza of the poem says, “When I see the mulberry tree and the catalpa tree near my house, I must be respectful and stop. I respect my own father, and I am attached to my own mother. Who is not the flesh and blood of his parents, and who is not born of them? God gave birth to me, but where can I find a good life?”
Due to the ignorance of King Yu, the vassals rebelled. In 771 B.C., Yi Su’s grandfather, the Marquis of Shen, joined forces with the army of Injun to attack the capital of Hao. The king ordered to light a beacon of smoke, but the lords were deceived into thinking that the king was just teasing the ladies on the spur of the moment, so they did not send help. Inu Rong’s army captured the city, killed King Yu and took away Bao Si. The phrase “must be respectful and stop” later evolved into “must be respectful and respectful”, also written “毕恭毕敬”.
Similar Idioms:
- 彬彬有礼
