embarrassingly short of money

embarrassingly short of money

Ruan nangshi is a Chinese idiom. Its pinyin is Ru ǎ NN á ngxi ū s è, which means to refer to economic difficulties. It comes from Yunzheng qunyu Yangyun yiqianbao.

Notes on Idioms

Ruan Nang: the money bag of Ruan Fu in Jin Dynasty; Shyness: embarrassment.

The origin of Idioms

Yin Shifu's Yunzheng qunyu Yangyun yiqianbao in Song Dynasty: "Ruan Fu holds a soap bag and travels to Kuaiji. The guest asked, "what's in the bag?" He said, "but if you have money to keep, you're afraid of being shy."

Idiom usage

I have no money on hand. In the book of hutianlu written by Bai Yi in Qing Dynasty: "Ruan is shy; there is a dilemma between the line and the end." 2. Despite the sincerity of "filial piety" to their respective "parents", but Ruan was shy, so he had to look at the tea and sigh. Xiao Lin asked me to go on a spring outing with him. I was so shy that I could only decline for an excuse. 4. I promised to buy a piano for my daughter who loves music very much. Because of her shyness, I still can't fulfill my wish.

Idiom story

Story 1: in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ruan Fu, the son of Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages in the bamboo grove, was as arrogant and dissolute as his father, and did not associate with the powerful. He was disheveled all day, drinking and playing, and never managing his family property, so he lived in poverty. He once took the golden mink for wine. He often carries a purse with him. When he is very poor, he only keeps a small coin in his pocket. The reason is that the owner is afraid of being short of money! In fact, it is a kind heart of the master! Story 2 Ruan Xian is one of the Seven Sages in the bamboo grove. He is good at playing musical instruments. Later generations called the instrument he played at that time "Ruan Xian", which is still used to play today. Ruan Xian is Ruan Ji's nephew and comes from a famous family. At that time, the Ruan family was a big family and lived in a place. Ruan Xian and Ruan Ji live in Daonan, and the people from the collateral branch of the family live in Daobei. People living in the north are relatively rich, while those living in the south, such as Ruan Ji and Ruan Xian, who are proud of their talents, are inevitably poor. On July 7, it was customary for every household to air their clothes. People in the North hang out their clothes. They are all made of silk and satin. They hang a yard full of clothes. Ruan Xian didn't have anything to air in his home, but he also took a bamboo pole and hung a pair of big calf nose trousers in the courtyard. The scenery on both sides of the courtyard reflected each other. The person who saw it was surprised and asked Ruan Xian why he had to hang a pair of trousers. Ruan Xian humorously replied: "we can't avoid vulgarity. Let's just hang up." Ruan Xian is an open-minded man who does not mean to be poor. Later generations use "Ruan Lang poor" and "Ruan Nang bashful" to refer to the poor situation of literati, which is also an expression of respect for Ruan Xian.