📖 Meaning
Describes a scene where many people are bustling about for some purpose, as crowded and busy as a marketplace. It typically conveys throngs of people rushing around pursuing their own interests or opportunities.
📜 Origin Story
From Feng Menglong's Ming dynasty collection Stories Old and New (古今小说), in the tale 'Shen Xiaoxiang Encounters the Memorial to the Throne.' The original passage describes how unscrupulous people flocked and hustled like a marketplace crowd, while the censorial offices were filled with their trusted henchmen. Feng Menglong was a prominent late-Ming writer who compiled vernacular short stories reflecting social realities of his era.
💡 Example Usage
新政策出台后，各地商人奔走如市，争相寻找商机。
After the new policy was announced, merchants from all over flocked like a marketplace, scrambling to find business opportunities.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 奔走如市
- Pinyin: bēn zǒu rú shì
- Literal Translation: run about, like, market
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4