After learning basic characters, the next level in Chinese is combining them into words, and then idioms. This free guide helps you understand advanced idioms like 「析骸易子」. Meaning and usage are below.
Today’s spotlight is on the Chinese idiom 「析骸易子」. You’ll find its explanation and usage below.
They cooked by dismantling corpses and exchanged children for food. Describes the extreme predicament of running out of food and aid. See “discussing the bones for cooking”.
The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :
xī hái yì zǐ
while its Cantonese pinyin is :
sik1 haai4 yi6 ji2
Chinese idioms are vast in number, each carrying unique meanings and usages. With such variety, there’s a lot to learn and appreciate. Hopefully, these resources will aid you on your journey to mastering Chinese.

