📖 Meaning
To depart for a distant place and never return, cutting off all ties permanently. It describes a deliberate and complete withdrawal from one's former life or obligations, with no intention of coming back.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Ming Dynasty Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng's memorial '再乞归葬疏' (Second Petition for Returning Home for Burial). In the memorial, Zhang pleaded with the emperor and the empress dowager for leave to return home for a family funeral. He explicitly clarified that his request was temporary — he was not seeking to '长往远引' (depart forever and never return) or to betray the court's trust. The phrase thus captures the tension between personal duty and official loyalty in Ming dynasty bureaucratic culture.
💡 Example Usage
他辞官后长往远引，隐居山林，再无人知其下落。
After resigning from office, he departed forever and vanished into the mountains, and no one ever knew his whereabouts again.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 长往远引
- Pinyin: cháng wǎng yuǎn yǐn
- Literal Translation: long, go, far, withdraw
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4