📖 Meaning
Describes someone dashing back and forth in a hurried, restless manner. It conveys a sense of constant, frantic movement without pause, often implying busyness or an inability to stay still.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the 'Shao Yi' (少仪) chapter of the 'Book of Rites' (《礼记》), a Confucian classic compiled during the Warring States period and later edited during the Han dynasty. The original passage advises against rash behavior, stating '毋拔来，毋报往' — meaning one should not come in haste nor leave in haste, urging measured conduct. Over time, the phrase shed its cautionary tone and came to describe the very act of ceaselessly rushing to and fro.
💡 Example Usage
他在会场里拔来报往，一刻也停不下来。
He rushed back and forth in the conference hall, unable to pause for even a moment.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 拔来报往
- Pinyin: bá lái fù wǎng
- Literal Translation: hastily come, hastily go
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4