China is a term for plates and dishes and cups (made of porcelain) A bull in a china shop is a person who is big and clumsy and breaks stuff.

china shop...not China shop It is a shop that sells china. china = porcelain You know, the breakable stuff. Look it up!

There are "China shops" in every country in the world, and it does not mean "China" the country. It means a shop where porcelain cups, saucers, plates, etc. are sold. China is a fine, expensive type of item that was first made in old China. You can imagine if a bull or elephant got in an expensive shop where porcelain dishes are sold, they would knock or bump everything on the floor, and everything would break to pieces. So this idiom is talking about a clumsy person who bumps into everything and you don't want him in your house or shop if he is not a careful person.

This answer is to add to what Jesse and Gena said, which are also correct. The phrase "Like a bull in a china shop" is an idiomatic expression. It can also be used to describe nonphysical destruction. For instance, if I said "He is like a bull in a china shop and he breaks me into pieces." I am expressing that he clumsily hurts me, probably without meaning to. An animal that is let loose in a shop with fragile goods, doesn't destroy things on purpose; it doesn't know any better. I am also expressing that I am fragile like china (fragile, delicate, beautiful dishes), and easily broken by him. Hope this helps and it was a good question!

Not The Palestinians, of course, Eliot! You know who!:))))))))