History
食少事煩
Eating Little, Toiling Much
Korean: 식소사번Japanese: 食少事煩（しょくしょうじはん）Pinyin: shí shǎo shì fán
Meaning
Eating little while laboring much — working oneself into the ground. Used of someone whose workload is visibly consuming their health.
Origin story
At Wuzhang Plains, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi faced off for over a hundred days, Sima Yi refusing battle no matter the provocation. Instead, he casually asked a Shu envoy how the Chancellor was faring. "He works from dawn past dusk, personally reviews every punishment above twenty strokes — yet eats only a few measures of grain," the envoy replied. Sima Yi observed: "Eating little and toiling much — how can he last?" Zhuge Liang indeed died of illness in that very camp, and the remark endured as a warning against burnout.
Source: Book of Jin — Annals of Emperor Xuan (Sima Yi)
People
Modern examples
- Watching the team lead skip lunch and stay late every night, everyone worried he was burning himself out.
- She ran on empty until she finally went on sick leave — no job is worth your health.