📖 Meaning
To betray public duty for private gain, disregarding laws and regulations in pursuit of personal profit. It describes officials or individuals who abuse their position to enrich themselves at the expense of the public good.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from the 'Book of Song' (《宋书》), specifically the 'Treatise on Officials' (百官志), compiled during the Southern Dynasties period by Shen Yue (沈约). The text criticizes local officials of the two-thousand-shi rank who failed to follow imperial edicts, violated established regulations, and sought private profit at public expense. Such officials oppressed the common people and amassed wealth through corrupt means, earning the label of wrongdoing. The idiom has since been used to condemn corruption and self-serving behavior among those entrusted with public authority.
💡 Example Usage
某些官员背公向私，利用职权谋取私利，最终受到法律严惩。
Certain officials betrayed public duty for private gain, using their authority to seek personal profit, and were ultimately severely punished by law.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 背公向私
- Pinyin: bèi gōng xiàng sī
- Literal Translation: back, public, toward, private
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4