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#95 Why ‘drinking vinegar’ means jealousy
Why ‘drinking vinegar’ means jealousy in China
The Chinese idiom chī cù means ‘to drink vinegar’ and people jokingly use it when, for example, a girl becomes jealous of her boyfriend flirting with another girl.
The roots of how jealousy between lovers relates to consuming vinegar dates back almost 1,400 years to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE).
According to one of the many versions of the story, Emperor Taizong of Tang (598-649 CE) bestowed upon Prime Minister Fang Xuanling several concubines as a way to solidify his ties with Fang. However, the prime minister did not dare accept, because his wife was very ferocious.
The emperor asked the prime minister’s wife to come to the court and then ordered her to take home the concubines. If Fang’s wife refused, she would be forced to drink a bottle of “poisonous liquid”.
The emperor had expected her to yield to his pressure, but to his surprise Mrs. Fang was strong-willed and said that she would rather die than share her husband with other women. In tears, Mrs. Fang drank the “poisonous liquid” only to discover that it was really strong vinegar.
Knowing how adamant Mrs. Fang was, Emperor Taizong gave up. Ever since, people have linked jealousy to drinking vinegar.
Nowadays, the expression is not only used in romantic relationships. When one burns with jealousy simply because another person receives a compliment or a reward, you can also say he is drinking vinegar these days.
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