Chinese Idiom: 生吞活剥 (Sheng Tun Huo Bo)
English Translation: Swallow raw and strip alive
pīn yīn: shēng tūn huó bō
Idiom Meaning: This idiom is used to describe the act of using others’ words or ideas without proper adaptation or understanding, essentially lifting content in a crude and unoriginal manner. It can also refer to the mechanical and uninspired imitation or acceptance of someone else’s work or ideas.
Historical Source: Liu Su’s Datang Xinyu (《大唐新语》) and also appears in the Tang Poetry Chronicle (《唐诗纪事》).
Idiom Story:
During the reign of Tang Gaozong (Li Zhi), a high official named Li Yifu composed a five-character poem:
镂月为歌扇，裁云作舞衣。
自怜回雪影，好取洛川归。
(Translation: “Carving the moon into a fan for singing, tailoring clouds into dancing clothes.
Feeling self-pity while looking at the snow reflection, hoping to return to the Luo River.”)
In the Hebei province, in Zaoqiang County (now part of Hebei’s Hengshui City), there was an official named Zhang Huaijing. Zhang was known for his lack of original skill and his habit of stealing others’ works, pretending them as his own. On this occasion, Zhang took Li Yifu’s five-character poem and crudely added two characters at the beginning of each line, transforming it into a seven-character poem that made little sense:
生情镂月为歌扇，出性裁云作舞衣。
照镜自怜回雪影，来时好取洛川归。
This garbled version of the poem was mocked, leading to the creation of a humorous verse that criticized Zhang’s method of using others’ works: “Rawly strip Zhang Changling and swallow alive Guo Zhengyi.”
This verse was later simplified into the idiom “生吞活剥” to represent the crude and uncreative imitation of others’ works or ideas.
