Chinese idiom · 成语
金科玉律
Meaning
Rules or principles regarded as authoritative and unchangeable; originally laws praised as precious as gold and jade.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary usageAn antecedent appears in Yang Xiong's Ju Qin Mei Xin, a work contrasting Qin with Wang Mang's Xin regime. In its extravagant praise of the new order, the text speaks of jin ke yu tiao: legal provisions compared with precious gold and jade. That is political praise, not historical proof that the laws were perfect.
The familiar form with 律 is documented in Du Guangting's Daoist ritual writing. Later usage broadened from revered laws and sacred rules to principles treated as unchangeable. The expression can be respectful, but it can also question someone's rigid attachment to a rule. Calling something a golden rule does not establish its infallibility.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
别把网上的理财经验当成金科玉律，自己的情况也要考虑。
Don't treat financial tips online as infallible rules; consider your own circumstances too.
Often used with 当成 or 奉为 to describe principles treated as unquestionable.