A modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions.
📜 Origin
《景德传灯录》
💡 Detailed Explanation
"Throw a brick to attract jade" literally means to toss out a brick in order to draw back fine jade. It is a metaphor for offering one's own crude, immature opinions or works to elicit others' brilliant and valuable insights or excellent works. This idiom originates from the Zen Buddhist text *Jingde Chuandeng Lu*, which records an exchange of witty dialogue between the Tang dynasty eminent monk Chan Master Congshen and his disciples, and was later widely used in literary interactions and everyday humble remarks. Its deeper meaning lies in emphasizing humility and respect: the speaker deliberately lowers himself, using the "brick" as a self-metaphor, thereby expressing both expectation of and respect for others' wisdom while also creating an open and equal atmosphere for exchange. It is mostly used in discussions, writing, conference speeches, and similar settings, often as a humble expression. Its emotional tone is modest and commendatory, reflecting the Chinese cultural wisdom of "retreating in order to advance" and "humbling oneself to receive from others." It should be noted that this idiom can only be used of oneself and not to evaluate others; otherwise, it will appear impolite.
📝 Example
1. Let me offer a modest spur to induce others to come forward with their valuable contributions, and share my preliminary thoughts in the hope that you will propose better solutions. (A humble way of referring to one's own shallow opinions in order to draw out others' superior ideas.)
2. This article is merely a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions, and I look forward to more scholars delving deeper into this issue. (A metaphor indicating that one's own work or views are not yet mature, in the hope of inspiring higher-quality research.)