Chinese idiom · 成语
投鼠忌器
Meaning
To hesitate to act for fear of collateral damage.
Character by character
Origin and story
Proverb in political writingIn Jia Yi’s writing preserved in Han Shu (漢書), volume 48, an existing proverb describes wanting to throw something at a rat but hesitating because it stands beside a valued vessel. Striking the rat might break the vessel as well.
Jia Yi applies the analogy to the treatment of senior officials close to the ruler: publicly humiliating them could also diminish the ruler’s dignity. That is a political argument, not a narrated incident about a shattered antique. Modern usage is broader, describing reluctance to remove a problem because the action could damage something or someone one wishes to protect.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
我想把这台旧电脑彻底重装，但怕丢了客户资料，有点投鼠忌器。
I want to reinstall everything on this old computer, but fear of losing client files makes me hesitate.
There should be a specific valued thing at risk from the intended corrective action.