糜
surname Mi; millet; rice gruel; rotten; to waste (money)
Closest English meanings
gruel·to rot·wasteful
The Calligrapher — Sūn Guòtíng 孙过庭
Tang cursive master and author of the key treatise 'Shu Pu'.
Tang calligrapher (约646–691), master of cursive script — known for 《书谱》. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
糜 is gruel gone utterly soft — rice boiled past all form — and by extension anything rotted or squandered. 糜烂 describes festering sores and rotten morals; 糜费 is the wasteful spending historians pin on decadent courts. And the bitter line 何不食肉糜 — why not eat meat porridge — came from Emperor Hui of Jin, told of starving peasants.
Common words & phrases
- 糜烂 rotten · erosive
- 糜费 wasteful · extravagant
- 肉糜 meat paste · minced meat
- 糜粥 congee · gruel
Read the story behind the character
糜烂 survives in hospitals and gossip columns: ulcerated tissue in reports, a 糜烂 lifestyle in reviews. Historians still quote Emperor Hui's 何不食肉糜 whenever an official seems oblivious — the meme-ready ancient line about porridge. Auditors reach for 糜费 to name squandered budgets, though 浪费 does the everyday work.
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