Zhangshang Mingzhu 掌上明珠 [a pearl in one’s palm]

Zhangshang Mingzhu 掌上明珠 [a pearl in one’s palm], refers to one’s most precious thing, especially daughter. This idiom originates from Fu Xuan’s 傅玄 (217-278) poem “Duange xing” 短歌行 [The Short Song Lines]: “Previous you see me, as the pearl in your palm; who would know that one day, you would abandon me to the ditches” 昔君視我，如掌中珠。何意一朝，棄我溝渠. Here the pearl refers to Lady Yin’s son, Huangfu Shaohua.