断袖之癖

断袖之癖斷袖之癖 duàn xiù zhī ㄉㄨㄢˋ ㄒㄧㄡˋ ㄓ ㄆㄧˇ dyun6 zau6 zi1 pik1

  • lit. cut sleeve (idiom); fig. euphemism for homosexuality, originating from History of Western Han 汉书 (漢書): emperor Han Aidi (real name Liu Xin) was in bed with his lover Dong Xian, and had to attend a court audience that morning. Not wishing to awaken Dong Xian, who was sleeping with his head resting on the emperor's long robe sleeve, Aidi used a knife to cut off the lower half of his sleeve.

Stroke order

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Character breakdown