Zengzi, a disciple of Confucius, was renowned for his filial piety and his practice of "daily self-examination on three points." He is credited with authoring *The Great Learning*, which, by the Song Dynasty, became one of the Four Books essential for the imperial civil service examinations.
Zengzi, a native of Nanwucheng in the State of Lu (present-day Fei County, Shandong), spent many years living in the State of Wei (around modern Huaxian, Henan). During those years, he was extremely poor and life was quite difficult, yet he remained optimistic and his spirit never wavered.
What was Zengzi's level of poverty at that time? Zhuang Zhou described it in detail:
He wore a tattered robe of tangled hemp with no lining, its colors faded and unsightly, his palms and soles thick with calluses. Sometimes he had no rice and would go three days without lighting a fire. For ten years straight, he didn't make a single new garment. On his head was a cap, but he dared not touch it, for the slightest tug would snap its frayed strings. If he adjusted his lapel, his elbows poked through. His shoes were so worn they showed his toes and heels.
Despite his extreme poverty, Zengzi always found joy in his own company. Often shuffling about in worn-out shoes, he would recite the *Odes of Shang* in a voice as resonant as striking bronze or stone, loud enough to shake heaven and earth. He lived freely and contentedly, so much so that no emperor could claim him as a subject, and no feudal lord could call him a friend.
When Zengzi lived in the State of Wei, he was so poor that his clothes were tattered. The most vivid description by Zhuang Zhou is "pulling the lapel to expose the elbow." "Pulling the lapel" means adjusting the collar; "exposing the elbow" means the elbow shows through. Originally, it meant living in poverty with torn clothing. Later, people used this idiom to describe being unable to cope with one thing without neglecting another.
Source: *Zhuangzi*, "Letting the King"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "捉襟见肘" came to describe how being unable to cope with one thing without neglecting another.