Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
被褐怀玉 (pī hè huái yù)
Word for word from chapter 70
被褐怀玉 (pī hè huái yù), “wears coarse cloth but carries jade inside”, closes chapter 70 of the Dao De Jing and describes a person of real worth who looks plain and does not show it.
Character by character
| 被 | pī | to wear, to put on |
|---|---|---|
| 褐 | hè | coarse cloth |
| 怀 | huái | to carry in the bosom |
| 玉 | yù | jade |
| 被褐怀玉 | Plain on the outside, rich in talent and virtue within, and in no hurry to show it. | |
Where it comes from
-
是以圣人被褐怀玉。
So the sage wears coarse cloth but carries jade inside.
How the meaning moved
The four characters end chapter 70: “So the sage wears coarse cloth but carries jade inside.” 褐 is the rough cloth of the poor; jade is the most precious thing one could carry. The chapter begins in the first person: “My words are very easy to understand and very easy to practice. Yet no one in the world can understand them, no one can practice them.” And: “Those who understand me are few; those who follow me are rare and precious.” The sage's worth is hidden, and so few see it.
Later the phrase became a way of naming hidden talent. Cao Cao, seeking able men in his “Order to Seek the Worthy” (求贤令), asks whether there is not someone in the world who “wears coarse cloth and carries jade” and fishes on the banks of the Wei, the way the sage minister of the Zhou had once been found. Today it is praise for a modest person of real ability. Note the reading: 被 here is pī, “to wear”, the same as 披, not bèi.
Using it today
-
这位老教授衣着朴素，话也不多，真是被褐怀玉的人。
zhè wèi lǎo jiào shòu yī zhuó pǔ sù, huà yě bù duō, zhēn shì pī hè huái yù de rén.
The old professor dresses plainly and says little: truly a man in coarse cloth with jade inside.
-
别以貌取人，被褐怀玉的人往往不显山不露水。
bié yǐ mào qǔ rén, pī hè huái yù de rén wǎng wǎng bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ.
Don't judge by appearances: people of hidden worth seldom let it show.