Something much-coveted, or "the flesh of a Tang Dynasty monk¹", refers to a big bonus or benefit that is pursued at any cost. In an article published by the Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection² on its website on Monday, the top discipline watchdog pointed³ out, that because of loose supervision⁴, the officials managing some State-owned enterprises regard the companies as such "monk flesh".

倍受觊觎的事物或“唐僧肉”指不惜任何代价想要获得的巨大好处和利益。中央纪委监察部3日在其网站上刊登的一篇文章指出，由于监管松散，国有企业的管理人员都把国有资产看做“唐僧肉”。

 

唐僧肉，按照字面意思可表达为the flesh of a Tang Dynasty monk，意译为something much-coveted。在小说《西游记》（Journey to the West）中，唐僧肉被认为食用后可以长生不老（the monk' s flesh will make the eater immortal），故被各种妖怪垂涎，由此引申为可以带来巨大好处和利益，因而受到众人追捧，甚至不惜一切代价取得的事物。