Chinese Wisdom Stories · Volume 1 · Story guide

缇萦救父Ti Ying Saves Her Father

tí yíng jiù fù

HSK4+历史故事

Ti Ying's father is sentenced to corporal punishment. She follows the guards to the capital and writes to the emperor, asking to take her father's punishment herself.

Where this story comes from

《史记·扁鹊仓公列传》

Records of the Grand Historian, biographies of Bian Que and Canggong

The story

缇萦的父亲淳于意是名医,被人告发后要押往长安受肉刑。缇萦只有十几岁,跟着押送队伍一路走到长安,上书汉文帝,说:父亲死后就再也站不起来了,我愿意做官奴,替父亲赎罪。汉文帝被她的孝心打动,下令废除肉刑。

What the idiom means

缇萦救父指子女勇敢地承担责任、救助父母;也形容人用行动和勇气改变不合理的制度。

Ti Ying saves her father through courage and a direct plea — one brave act can change a harsh rule.

How to use it

缇萦救父的故事让人明白,勇气不一定来自力量,也可能来自对家人的爱。

tí yíng jiù fù de gù shì ràng rén míng bái , yǒng qì bù yī dìng lái zì lì liàng , yě kě néng lái zì duì jiā rén de ài 。

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Part of the Chinese Wisdom Stories series