Chinese Idiom: 割席绝交 (Ge Xi Jue Jiao)
English Translation: Cutting the Mat and Breaking Off Friendship
pīn yīn: gē xí jué jiāo
Idiom Meaning: It metaphorically refers to the termination of a friendship due to differing ambitions or incompatible feelings.
Historical Source: Shishuo Xinyu (A New Account of Tales of the World), specifically the chapter on virtue and character.
Idiom Story:
During the Eastern Han dynasty, there were three close friends: Guan Ning (管宁), Hua Xin (华歆), and Bing Yuan (邴原). In their youth, they often studied together and were so inseparable that the locals likened them to a dragon, with Hua Xin as the head, Guan Ning as the body, and Bing Yuan as the tail.
Guan Ning and Hua Xin, who were both scholars, shared the same place of study, yet their characters and aspirations were strikingly different. Guan Ning was diligent and frugal, showing no interest in wealth or fame. In contrast, Hua Xin was quite the opposite. According to Shishuo Xinyu:
One day, while tilling the soil in a vegetable garden, Guan Ning and Hua Xin unearthed a piece of gold. Guan Ning, treating it as if it were merely a piece of tile or stone, continued to work without a glance at the gold. However, Hua Xin was intrigued, picked it up to examine, but eventually tossed it aside.
Another time, as they were reading together, the sound of drums and music suddenly filled the air. A high-ranking official passed by in a beautiful carriage. Guan Ning remained focused on his studies, unfazed, while Hua Xin eagerly dropped his book and rushed outside to watch.
After experiencing these incidents, Guan Ning realized that he and Hua Xin had fundamentally different attitudes toward life and moral cultivation, lacking a common ideological foundation for their friendship. When Hua Xin returned to the room, Guan Ning decisively cut the mat they were sitting on in half with a knife and solemnly declared, “You are no longer my friend.” From that moment on, their friendship was severed.
As time passed, Guan Ning devoted himself to studying and became a knowledgeable scholar, living a reclusive life. Despite several invitations from Emperor Wen of Wei to take up official positions, he consistently declined. Meanwhile, Hua Xin sought fame in the court, aiding Cao Pi in compelling Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate, eventually becoming the Minister of Works in the Wei state.
