would rather break than bend

would rather break than bend

It is a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is n ì ngzh é B ù w ā n, which originally means that poplar wood will only break and will not bend and deform under the action of external force; later it is used to mean that it would rather die than yield. It comes from "Qi Min Yao Shu, Volume 5, planting elm and Poplar".

The origin of Idioms

"Qi Min Yao Shu · Volume 5 · planting elm and white poplar" says: "white poplar is very strong and straight, and can be used as house material. If it is broken, it will be broken, and it will not bend in the end."

Idiom usage

It means that people have ambition.

Examples

Yao xueyin's "long night" chapter 40: "I am a fir rafter, rather than bending." Li Shuimo replied, "I don't look at the guests."

In the second volume of the complete biography of Hu Xueyan, you Wu said: "you Wu was stubborn to the end more than ten years ago

Analysis of Idioms

Better die than surrender

Antonym: compromise