zèng​chén​fǔ​yú

stark poverty

Senses

甑尘釜鱼/ 甑塵釜魚 zèng​chén​fǔ​yú stark poverty

Dust in the steamer and fish in the pot; describes living in extreme poverty where one has been unable to cook for a long time. This idiom references the story of Fan Ran in the "Book of the Later Han", whose kitchenware was so neglected that dust collected in the zèng and silverfish grew in the .

References

same_as 破甑生尘/破甑生塵 甑尘釜鱼/甑塵釜魚