Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
根深蒂固 (gēn shēn dì gù)
Reworked from chapter 59
根深蒂固 (gēn shēn dì gù), “deep roots and a firm stalk”, reworks “deep roots and a firm base” in chapter 59 of the Dao De Jing and today means deeply entrenched.
Character by character
| 根 | gēn | root |
|---|---|---|
| 深 | shēn | deep, profound |
| 蒂 | dì | stalk (of a flower or fruit) |
| 固 | gù | firm |
| 根深蒂固 | So deeply rooted that it cannot be shaken; said today mostly of habits, beliefs or prejudices that are hard to change. | |
Where it comes from
The idiom is not in the text as such: it reworks the line 深根固柢.
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是谓深根固柢，长生久视之道。
This is called deep roots and a firm base, the Way of long life and lasting sight.
How the meaning moved
The four characters 根深蒂固 are not in the Dao De Jing as they stand. Chapter 59 ends: “This is called deep roots and a firm base, the Way of long life and lasting sight” (是谓深根固柢，长生久视之道). The book puts the verbs first, 深根固柢, “deepen the root, make firm the taproot”. The idiom turns each pair around, 根深, “the root is deep”, 蒂固, “the stalk is firm”, and writes 蒂, the stalk that holds a flower or a fruit, for 柢, the taproot, a character of almost the same sound. Dictionaries in Taiwan still write 根深柢固.
In the chapter the roots are those of a state. It begins: “In governing people and serving heaven, nothing is better than frugality”; frugality builds up virtue until one “can hold a state” and “last long”. The Han Feizi explains the image with a tree, telling the taproot, 柢, from the spreading roots: “when the taproot is firm, life is long; when the roots are deep, sight is lasting.”
The idiom can still praise a foundation nothing can shake, but today it is more often said of what one would like to shake and cannot: an old habit, a prejudice, a way of thinking that has taken root over generations.
Using it today
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重男轻女的观念在一些地方根深蒂固，改变它需要时间。
zhòng nán qīng nǚ de guān niàn zài yī xiē dì fāng gēn shēn dì gù, gǎi biàn tā xū yào shí jiān.
In some places the preference for sons over daughters is deeply rooted, and changing it takes time.
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他熬夜的习惯已经根深蒂固，一下子很难改掉。
tā áo yè de xí guàn yǐ jīng gēn shēn dì gù, yī xià zi hěn nán gǎi diào.
His habit of staying up late is so ingrained that he can't drop it all at once.