One hair from nine cattle
Refers to something extremely insignificant, small, or trivial; something not worth mentioning
Positive
这些钱对于一个百万富翁来说不过是九牛一毛 | Zhè xiē qián duìyú yī gè bǎiwànfùwēng lái shuō bu guò shì jiǔniúyīmáo
To a millionaire, this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket
[Source]
他所捐赠的钱物只是他财产的九牛一毛 | Tā suǒ juānzèng de qián wù zhǐshì tā cáichǎn de jiǔniúyīmáo
All his donations only make up a tiny amount of his wealth
[Source]
A drop in the bucket
A drop in the sea
None
None
《报任少卿书》 (Bào Rèn Shào Qīng Shū), a work written by the famous historian Sima Qian (司马迁, Sī Mǎ Qiān)
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Hàn (汉) Dynasty (156 - 87 BC), there was a famous general named 李陵(Lǐ Líng). One day, in a battle against the 匈奴 (Xiōng Nú), a nomadic warrior group that frequently battled with China, 李陵 and his troops suffered a defeat and were forced to surrender. News of the surrender enraged Emperor Wu, and members of his obsequious court proceeded to criticize the defeated general. However, the scribe 司马迁 (Sīmǎ Qiān) remained silent from his position in the side of the court, and the emperor soon asked his opinion. 司马迁 responded in favor of 李陵, pointing out that the general had been vastly outnumbered and had fought until his troops were out of arrows, food, and a way to escape. A furious Emperor Wu responded by throwing him into prison.
Unfortunately, the situation continued to escalate. A year later, inaccurate rumors that 李陵 was training 匈奴 troops reached the court, and the emperor responded by having 李陵's mother and wife executed. On top of that, at a court minister's urging, the emperor further punished 司马迁 for offering support for 李陵 by having him castrated. 司马迁, despairing in the face of all the suffering he faced, considered killing himself. However, he realized that in the eyes of the powerful people around him, dying in such a way would be like 九牛一毛, and people would only look down at him. As such, he continued to live, and came to write 史记, one of the greatest historic works in China's history.