握髮吐哺

See also: 握髪吐哺

Chinese

shake hands; to hold; to grasp hair vomit; to spit feed
trad. (握髮吐哺) 握 髮 吐 哺
simp. (握发吐哺) 握 发 吐 哺

Etymology

From The Biography of the Duke of Zhou (魯周公世家) in the Records of the Grand Historian:

「然我一沐三握髮，一飯三吐哺，起以待士，猶恐失天下之賢人。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
「然我一沐三握发，一饭三吐哺，起以待士，犹恐失天下之贤人。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
“rán wǒ yī mù sān wò fà, yī fàn sān tù bǔ, qǐ yǐ dài shì, yóu kǒng shī tiānxià zhī xiánrén.” [Pinyin]
[the Duke of Zhou said,] " […] Yet each time I bathe, I am called away three times, wringing out my hair in haste; each time I dine, I rush off three times, spitting out my food in haste, in order to wait upon some gentleman. I do so because I am always fearful that I may otherwise fail to gain the service of a worthy man."

Pronunciation

Idiom

握髮吐哺

  1. to be eager of talents

Synonyms

  • 吐哺握髮／吐哺握发
  • 周公吐哺
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