Chinese idiom · 成语
断章取义
Meaning
To cut a chapter for meaning; to quote out of context.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical and literary usageIn the Zuozhuan, Duke Xiang's twenty-eighth year, Lupu Gui is challenged for accepting marriage within the same ancestral surname. He responds by comparing his choice with selecting a passage from a poem: he takes what serves his purpose. His remark assumes the established practice of using selected verses to express a speaker's own intention.
Such poetic borrowing in ancient conversation and diplomacy was not always considered dishonest. The modern idiom usually carries a sharper criticism: quoting only part of a text or statement while disregarding context, thereby distorting its meaning. The exact four-character wording is also attested in Liu Xie's Wenxin diaolong, Zhangju.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
请把整段话看完，不要只截一句就断章取义。
Please read the whole passage instead of lifting one sentence out of context.
Usually criticizes distortion through selective quotation rather than ordinary summarizing.