📖 Meaning
Refers to Liu Bei's three visits to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage to recruit him as advisor. It metaphorically represents a ruler's deep appreciation and trust toward a worthy minister, or a sincere and earnest invitation extended to someone of talent.
📜 Origin Story
During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the warlord Liu Bei sought the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang, who lived in seclusion in a thatched cottage at Longzhong. Despite his own noble status, Liu Bei personally visited three times before Zhuge Liang finally agreed to serve him. Zhuge Liang later recorded this in his famous memorial 'Chu Shi Biao,' writing that the late Emperor humbled himself to visit him three times in his thatched cottage. The story became a lasting symbol of a ruler's sincere recognition of talent and earnest recruitment.
💡 Example Usage
这位老教授学识渊博，院长草庐三顾，终于请他出山任教。
The professor was so learned that the dean visited him three times in earnest, finally persuading him to come out of retirement to teach.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 草庐三顾
- Pinyin: cǎo lú sān gù
- Literal Translation: grass cottage, three, visits
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4