📖 Meaning
A metaphor for the civilizing influence of moral virtue and education, whereby people are naturally transformed and follow good example. It conveys the same idea as the idiom 风行草偃 — just as grass bends when the wind blows across it, so do the common people yield to righteous moral leadership.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom derives from the same classical concept found in the Analects (论语·颜渊), where Confucius teaches that 'the virtue of the superior man is like the wind, and the virtue of the common man is like the grass; when the wind passes over the grass, it must bend.' It became associated with rulers and sages whose moral example spreads like the wind, gently bending the people toward virtue. Over time, the phrase 草靡风行 emerged as a variant expression of this teaching, emphasizing how cultural and ethical influence spreads naturally and pervasively through society.
💡 Example Usage
明君以德化民，草靡风行，天下归心。
The wise ruler transforms the people through virtue; his influence spreads like wind bending the grass, and all under heaven turn their hearts toward him.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 草靡风行
- Pinyin: cǎo mí fēng xíng
- Literal Translation: grass, bend, wind, travel
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4