清水衙门 Dry Office
Explanation
比喻没有油水、缺乏利益的机构或部门。
Refers to an institution or department with no benefits or profits.
Origin Story
话说古代有一个县衙，这个县衙的官员们个个清正廉洁，不贪不占，只一心为百姓服务。他们每天处理政务，虽然辛苦，但从不收受贿赂，也不克扣民脂民膏。因此，这个县衙被称为“清水衙门”。人们都说，在这个县衙做事，虽然清贫，但问心无愧。时光荏苒，几代官员都保持了这一传统，他们的清廉正直得到了百姓的赞扬和敬佩。然而，由于县衙的收入主要依靠政府拨款，而拨款数额有限，导致县衙的官员们收入微薄，生活清苦。这便是“清水衙门”的由来，用来形容那些收入低廉，缺乏油水的机构或部门。
Once upon a time, there was a county government office in ancient China. The officials in this office were all honest and upright, neither greedy nor corrupt, but devoted to serving the people. Every day, they handled government affairs diligently but never took bribes nor embezzled public funds. Therefore, this county government office was known as the "dry office". People said that while working in this office was poor, it was a matter of conscience. As time passed, generations of officials maintained this tradition, and their honesty and integrity earned the praise and admiration of the people. However, since the office's revenue mainly relied on government allocations and the amount was limited, the officials had meager incomes and lived in poverty. This is the origin of the term "dry office", used to describe those organizations or departments with low income and lack of "oil and water."
Usage
常用作主语、宾语、定语，形容机构或部门缺乏利润和好处。
Often used as subject, object, or attributive, describing institutions or departments lacking profit and benefits.
Examples
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那个部门就是个清水衙门，没什么油水可捞。
nàge bùmén jiùshì ge qīngshuǐ yámén, méiyǒu shénme yóushuǐ kě lào
That department is just a dry office, there's no money to be made.
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他觉得这个职位是个清水衙门，不适合自己。
tā juéde zhège zhíwèi shì ge qīngshuǐ yámén, bù shìhé zìjǐ
He thinks this position is a dry office, not suitable for him