鼠窃狗盗 shǔ qiè gǒu dào Petty theft

Explanation

比喻小偷小摸的行为。

refers to petty theft and minor crimes.

Origin Story

话说秦朝末年，天下大乱，农民起义此起彼伏。秦二世胡亥听信奸臣赵高的谗言，对各地起义视而不见，反而将那些上奏各地起义消息的官员抓捕入狱。一天，胡亥问他的近臣叔孙通：“各地起义如此频繁，这该如何是好？”叔孙通不慌不忙地回答道：“陛下无需担心，这些不过是一些鼠窃狗盗的小事罢了，不足为虑。”胡亥听后，龙颜大悦，便重赏了叔孙通。然而，叔孙通的轻描淡写并不能改变大势所趋，不久之后，秦朝便被陈胜吴广领导的农民起义推翻了。这个故事告诉我们，不能轻视任何潜在的危机，即使看起来微不足道的小事，也可能发展成巨大的灾难。

huà shuō qín cháo mò nián, tiān xià dà luàn, nóng mín qǐ yì cǐ qǐ bì fú. qín èr shì hú hài tīng xìn jiān chén zhào gāo de chán yán, duì gè dì qǐ yì shì ér bù jiàn, fǎn ér jiāng nà xiē shàng zòu gè dì qǐ yì xiāo xī de guān yuán zhuā bǔ rù yù. yī tiān, hú hài wèn tā de jìn chén shū sūn tōng：'gè dì qǐ yì rú cǐ pín fán, zhè gāi rú hé shì hǎo？' shū sūn tōng bù huāng bù máng de huí dá dào：'bì xià wú xū dānxīn, zhè xiē bù guò shì yī xiē shǔ qiè gǒu dào de xiǎo shì bà le, bù zú wèi lǜ.' hú hài tīng hòu, lóng yán dà yuè, biàn zhòng shǎng le shū sūn tōng. rán ér, shū sūn tōng de qīng miáo qiǎn xiě bìng bù néng gǎi biàn dà shì suǒ qū, bù jiǔ zhī hòu, qín cháo biàn bèi chén shèng wú guǎng lǐng dǎo de nóng mín qǐ yì tuī fān le. zhège gù shì gào sù wǒ men, bù néng qīng shì rènhé qián zài de wēi jī, jí shǐ kàn qǐ lái wēi bù zú dào de xiǎo shì, yě kě néng fā zhǎn chéng jù dà de zāi nàn.

In the final years of the Qin Dynasty, the country was in great turmoil, with peasant uprisings occurring frequently. Qin Er Shi Hu Hai, believing the malicious words of the treacherous minister Zhao Gao, turned a blind eye to the uprisings throughout the land, even arresting and imprisoning officials who reported on these rebellions. One day, Hu Hai asked his close advisor, Shu Sun Tong, "With uprisings so frequent, what should we do?" Shu Sun Tong calmly replied, "Your Majesty need not worry; these are merely petty thefts and minor crimes, nothing to be concerned about." Hu Hai was greatly pleased and rewarded Shu Sun Tong generously. However, Shu Sun Tong's nonchalant words could not change the course of history. Shortly thereafter, the Qin Dynasty was overthrown by the peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. This story teaches us not to underestimate any potential crisis, as even seemingly insignificant events can escalate into immense disasters.

Usage

多用于形容小偷小摸的行为。

duō yòng yú xíng róng xiǎo tōu xiǎo mō de xíng wéi

It is often used to describe the behavior of petty thieves.

Examples

• 村子里最近发生了几起鼠窃狗盗事件，大家人心惶惶。

  cūn zi li zuì jìn fā shēng le jǐ qǐ shǔ qiè gǒu dào shì jiàn, dà jiā rén xīn huáng huáng.

  Several cases of petty theft have occurred in the village recently, causing fear among the people.

• 他虽然家境贫寒，但从不鼠窃狗盗，为人正直。

  tā suī rán jiā jìng pín hán, dàn cóng bù shǔ qiè gǒu dào, wéi rén zhèng zhí

  Although he was poor, he never resorted to petty theft, and he was known for his integrity

Related Idioms

• 鸡鸣狗盗

• 偷鸡摸狗

Opposite Idioms

• 正人君子

• 光明磊落