Chinese idiom · 成语
布衣蔬食
Meaning
Plain cloth and simple food; a humble life.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical and literary usageThe expression joins plain cloth clothing with simple food. A Hanshu passage about Wang Ji, quoted in Beitang Shuchao (北堂書鈔), describes him living this way after leaving office. The surrounding account contrasts his neat public dress with the absence of hoarded wealth and his modest private life.
The same wording appears in later literature, including chapter 18 of The Scholars. There it describes an official retaining a scholar's simple habits. The phrase is therefore a description of frugal living, not a special story about vegetables or a claim that plain food automatically proves virtue. Depending on context it may suggest chosen simplicity or limited means.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
他收入不错，却仍过着布衣蔬食的简朴生活。
He earns a good income but still leads a plain, frugal life.
A literary expression for material simplicity; it need not mean extreme deprivation.