A dead camel still carries weight, a dead horse may be a last gamble

Both camels and horses have long been companions of human beings, beneficial even when dead. In addition to their meat, hide and other usable parts, they also were the impetus for two popular proverbs in the Chinese language.

The first one, shouside luotuo bimada, translates as “a camel starved to death is still bigger than a living horse.”

瘦死的骆驼比马大

shòu sǐ de luò tuó bǐ mǎ dà

Most people believe this saying originated in the 18th century Chinese classic novel “A Dream of Red Mansions.” The sprawling saga is the intricate tale of the decline of four rich families and the romances among their younger members and maids.

Granny Liu, a rustic, poor remote relative of one of the wealthy rich families, comes to visit her kinsmen one day to ask for help. After she is given 20 taels of silver, Granny Liu utters her gratitude, saying “shouside luotuo bimada.”

The saying here means that even in decline, a rich family is still richer than a poor family.

Today, the expression is used to describe states, businesses and people in similar situations.

Another proverb is about a dead horse. Chinese people often say sima dang huoma yi when they are making a desperate last attempt to rescue a hopeless situation. The literal meaning of the expression is “to doctor a dead horse as if it were still alive.”

死马当活马医

sǐ mǎ dāng huó mǎ yī

The phrase might be compared with the Hail Mary pass, a term used in American football to describe a very long forward pass, usually made by a losing team, with an extremely small chance of achieving completion.