雷池 (Léichí): Lei Pond (an ancient body of wa…

Meanings

1 Lei Pond (an ancient body of water in present-day Anhui)
2 (figurative) the line one must not cross

Characters

雷

Examples

他做事谨慎，不敢越雷池一步。

Tā zuò shì jǐnshèn, bù gǎn yuè Léichí yí bù.

He's cautious—he doesn't dare to overstep the line by even a single step.

在公司规章面前，没有人能越雷池半步。

Zài gōngsī guīzhāng miànqián, méi yǒu rén néng yuè Léichí bàn bù.

When it comes to company rules, no one can step over the line.

Tips

history

Today only survives in the set phrase 不敢越雷池一步 'dare not cross Lei Pond by a step', from a 4th-century letter by Eastern Jin statesman Yu Liang (庾亮) to general Wen Qiao (温峤) in 《晋书·庾亮传》, telling him to stay south of Lei Pond and not march on the capital.

culture

Geographically, 雷池 was a real lake in present-day Wangjiang County (望江县), Anhui Province. As a place name it is now obscure — the figurative meaning has eclipsed the literal one in everyday usage.