📖 Meaning
To rise above worldly affairs and find leisurely contentment in oneself. It describes a state of being detached from mundane concerns and living at ease, originally used critically to denote complacent detachment despite warnings.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase appears in a letter titled '与公孙瓒书' (Letter to Gongsun Zan) written by Yuan Shao during the late Han Dynasty. Yuan Shao stated that he had sent sincere, earnest recommendations hoping Gongsun Zan would reflect and reform his ways, yet Gongsun Zan remained aloof and self-indulgent, boasting of his military might and believing he could swallow the heavens and destroy rival heroes. Originally the phrase carried a critical tone, reproaching someone who stayed complacently detached despite earnest counsel.
💡 Example Usage
退休后他隐居山林，过着超然自逸的日子。
After retiring, he secluded himself in the mountains, living a life of transcendent leisure and ease.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 超然自逸
- Pinyin: chāo rán zì yì
- Literal Translation: transcend, naturally, self, leisure
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4