- 身家性命 shēnjiāxìngmìng one's life and propertyone's entire worldly possessions, family, and physical life; everything one owns and holds dear
- 性命攸关 xìngmìngyōuguān criticalvitally important; involving a matter of life and death
- 机关算尽太聪明，反算了卿卿性命 jīguānsuànjìntàicōngming, fǎnsuànleqīngqīngxìngmìng over-calculating backfiresIf one is too calculating, it will be the cause of one's own undoing (famous line in "A Dream of Red Mansions").
