| Change log entry 73939 | |
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| Processed by: | richwarm (2022-01-06 02:11:21 GMT) |
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<< review queue entry 69614 - submitted by 'richwarm' >> There are lots of variants of this expression. The following are from TP: 於是，不斷趕往下一場會議的經理人，為五斗米折腰的小民，許許多多有夢的中年人，紛紛在工作之外，或人生的下半場，展開逐夢之旅，為自己畫出一個圓夢人生。 And so you rush--you continually rush--to the next management conference, compromising your principles for scant reward.... Yet increasing numbers of the middle-aged are--outside of their jobs or as a second act in life--traveling the road of their dreams and seeking self-fulfillment. 這 種「不為五斗米折腰」的工作觀， Naturally, with such a "take this job and shove it" attitude, 何況國會運途多舛，議員們夾在南北兩個政府間老是開不成什麼會、領不到什麼錢，才使得原本不乏理想色彩的民初議員為錢折腰，政治現實糟蹋知識份子的人格，古今皆然。 Facing an uncertain fate, and caught between the northern and southern governments, parliamentarians were unable to hold meaningful sessions, nor could they collect any regular salaries, so it is no surprise that these early parliamentarians, many idealistic to start with, ended up giving in to temptation. There is nothing new under the sun about intellectuals being sullied by the realities of hard-nosed politics. 「許多事情，年輕人做起來一點障礙都沒有，但是中年了，自己給自己起了一堵堵高牆，很難掙脫得開，」林鴻桂算是幸運的，可以不必為五斗米折腰， "There are many things which young people can do without any inhibitions, but in middle age you build yourself all kinds of high walls which are very hard to escape from." Lin counts himself lucky, for he doesn't need to break his back just to earn a pittance. 更何況他的翻譯專長每年為他帶來頗豐的收入，讓他不必為薪水折腰。 To Chu, life is full of choices, and he did not want to just stay in one place. He wanted to explore other possibilities, and the income that he made from translating freed him from having to work for a salary. ------------------------------ "One of the most famous early medieval Chinese poets, Tao Qian (Yuanming) (365- 427), when asked to dress up in a fancy, formal way to show his subservience to a visiting inspector, famously declared, “Wú bùnéng wèi wǔdǒu mǐ zhéyāo, quánquán shì xiānglǐ xiǎo rén yé 吾不能為五斗米折腰，拳拳事鄉里小人邪！” ("I cannot bend my back to obsequiously serve a petty person in the village for five pecks of rice." ... The "five pecks of rice" refers to his salary as a local magistrate, which he'd rather give up than lose his dignity and self respect. Because of his unbending attitude, Tao abandoned government service altogether by the age of forty and returned to his own hometown to live as a farmer." https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=53137 "In the Spring of 405, Tao Yuanming was serving in the army, as aide-de-camp to the local commanding officer.[4] The death of his sister together with his disgust at the corruption and infighting of the Jin Court prompted him to resign. As Tao himself put it, he would not "bow like a servant in return for five pecks of grain" (為五斗米折腰 wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhé yāo), a saying which has entered common usage meaning "swallowing one's pride in exchange for a meager existence". "Five pecks of grain" was among other things the specified salary of certain low-rank officials. Certainly Tao Yuanming's salary as Penze County Magistrate was far higher than five pecks, so this was a symbolic expression.[14] For the last 22 years of his life, he lived in retirement on his small farmstead." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Yuanming See also a) K @ 五斗米折腰 b) https://www.moedict.tw/%E4%B8%8D%E7%82%BA%E4%BA%94%E6%96%97%E7%B1%B3%E6%8A%98%E8%85%B0 c) https://cantonese.org/search.php?q=%E4%B8%8D%E7%82%BA%E4%BA%94%E6%96%97%E7%B1%B3%E6%8A%98%E8%85%B0 |
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# 為五斗米折腰 为五斗米折腰 [wei4 wu3 dou3 mi3 zhe2 yao1] /(fig.) to compromise one's principles for the sake of a salary/ + 為五斗米折腰 为五斗米折腰 [wei4 wu3 dou3 mi3 zhe2 yao1] /(famous phrase used by Tao Qian 陶潛|陶潜[Tao2 Qian2], who resigned from government service rather than show subservience to a visiting inspector) to bow and scrape for five pecks of rice (that being a part of his salary as a local magistrate)/(fig.) to compromise one's principles for the sake of a salary/ |