Basic Information
Chinese Idiom: 煮豆燃萁
Pinyin: zhǔ dòu rán qí
Literal Meaning: Boil beans with bean stalks as fuel.
Figurative Meaning: Brothers or close kin attack and harm one another.
Cultural Background
This idiom comes from a well-known story of the Cao brothers during the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Pi (曹丕), the new emperor, was jealous of his younger brother Cao Zhi (曹植), a brilliant poet. Wanting an excuse to execute him, Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhi to compose a poem within seven steps — or face death.
Cao Zhi, heartbroken by his own brother’s cruelty, walked seven steps and recited this poem:
Boil beans on a beanstalk flame,
Beans weep inside the pot:
“We grew from the very same root –
Why boil me with such heat?”
Moved by the poem – or publicly shamed – Cao Pi spared his brother’s life.
The poem composed in seven steps is widely celebrated in Chinese culture. It uses beans and stalks growing from the same root as a metaphor to accuse fraternal strife, and the phrase has been passed down to condemn internal conflict among relatives.
Origin & Translation
From A New Account of the Tales of the World · Literature, compiled by Liu Yiqing of the Southern Dynasties.
Emperor Wen (Cao Pi) once ordered Prince of Dong’e (Cao Zhi) to compose a poem within seven steps. He would be executed if he failed.
Cao Zhi made the poem right away:
Beans are boiled to make a stew,
Strained to get the juice anew.
Stalks burn beneath the pot so hot,
Beans weep inside, in bitter thought.
We sprouted from one single root,
Why burn me with such furious fruit?
Hearing this, Emperor Wen looked utterly ashamed.
Usage
It is mostly used in a derogatory sense, describing cruel infighting and mutual persecution between brothers or close companions.
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