📖 Meaning
操身行世 means to establish oneself and conduct oneself properly in society, governing one's own behavior before acting in the world. It emphasizes living and interacting with others according to moral principles such as rites and righteousness. The idiom is essentially equivalent to 立身处世.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from a letter by the Ming dynasty scholar Fang Xiaoru, written to the compiler-editor Lu Xilu (Lu Xi) and titled 《与卢编修希鲁书》. In the letter Fang Xiaoru laments that he had strictly bound himself with rites and righteousness, hoping to overcome his own stubbornness and laziness. He also sought to transform others who were stubborn and lazy, so that they might understand the great principles of conducting oneself in the world, as well as the great duties of filial piety toward parents and loyalty to the ruler.
💡 Example Usage
他一生以礼义自绳，深明操身行世之大方。
All his life he disciplined himself with rites and righteousness, deeply understanding the great principles of conducting oneself in the world.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 操身行世
- Pinyin: cāo shēn xíng shì
- Literal Translation: guide, body, act, world
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4