"折腰" • Chinese-English Dictionary
| 折腰 | zhé yāo | to bend at the waist / to bow / (fig.) to bow to / to submit |  | |
Approximate Results for 折腰 | ||||
| 为五斗米折腰 | wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhé yāo | (allusion to Tao Qian 陶潛|陶潜[Tao2 Qian2], who used this phrase when he 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 | | |
