生吞活剥

1. Basic Information

• Pinyin: shēng tūn huó bō
• English Translation: To swallow whole (mechanical imitation)
• Idiom Composition: 「生」（Raw; uncooked）＋「吞」（To swallow; to gulp down）＋「活」（Alive; living）＋「剥」（To skin; to peel off）
• Meaning: Literally meaning to skin an animal alive and swallow it raw. Figuratively, it refers to the act of mechanically copying or applying others' words, theories, or experiences without truly understanding or digesting them.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「生吞活剥」 contains the following nuances:

• Indigestible Imitation: This idiom is used to criticize a state of 'intellectual indigestion' where one adopts the form of something without understanding its essence or context.
• A Violent Metaphor: The intense image of 'skinning alive' implies a lack of respect or sensitivity toward art and scholarship, suggesting a clumsy and forceful handling of others' work.

3. Usage

「生吞活剥」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

• Learning and Academics: Used to criticize a rigid attitude where one applies textbook knowledge or theories without considering the actual situation or context.
  • Example:「学习外国经验不能生吞活剥，必须结合本国的实际情况。」
    （When learning from foreign experiences, we must not swallow them whole; we must integrate them with our own country's actual conditions.）
• Creative Writing and Quoting: Refers to the unnatural 'patchwork' of others' writings or styles without making them one's own or understanding their essence.
  • Example:「这篇论文只是把几个名人的观点生吞活剥地拼凑在一起，缺乏独创性。」
    （This thesis merely mechanically patches together the viewpoints of several famous people and lacks originality.）

Additional Examples:

1. 我们不能生吞活剥地套用书本上的公式来解决复杂的社会问题。
   （We cannot blindly apply formulas from books to solve complex social problems.）
2. 他对这种理论只是生吞活剥，根本没有真正理解其中的深意。
   （He has only scratched the surface of this theory and does not truly understand its deep meaning.）
3. 这种生吞活剥的翻译方式，让读者完全读不懂原文的美感。
   （This crude and literal translation style prevents readers from appreciating the beauty of the original text.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

• Origin: This idiom is derived from an anecdote in the Book of Records of the Court and the Commonalty (朝野佥载) by Zhang Zhuo (张鷟) of the Tang Dynasty (唐朝). It tells of a monk who plagiarized and clumsily altered existing poems, leading others to mock him by saying he 'swallowed them raw and skinned them alive.'
• Modern Context: In modern usage, it remains a sharp criticism for 'copy-pasting' or rigid adherence to manuals without flexibility or creativity.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

• Similar Idioms:
  • 囫囵吞枣 (hú lún tūn zǎo): To swallow a date whole; to accept information without thinking or analyzing it.
  • 生搬硬套 (shēng bān yìng tào): To copy and paste mechanically; to apply something indiscriminately regardless of the situation.
  • 不求甚解 (bù qiú shèn jiě): Not seeking a thorough understanding.link
  • 一知半解 (yī zhī bàn jiě): To have a superficial understanding of something.link
• Opposite Idioms:
  • 融会贯通 (róng huì guàn tōng): To achieve a comprehensive understanding by integrating various pieces of knowledge into a unified whole.
  • 举一反三 (jǔ yī fǎn sān): To infer other things from one instance.link
  • 推陈出新 (tuī chén chū xīn): To discard the old and bring forth the new.link

6. Summary

The idiom 生吞活剥 (shēng tūn huó bō) is a critical expression used to describe a lack of creativity or the rigid application of knowledge. It evokes a visceral image of swallowing prey raw, suggesting a crude and unrefined way of learning or creating. It is commonly used in contexts such as academic study, translation, or the blind application of foreign theories.