📖 Meaning
To drift with the waves and currents, meaning to go along with the crowd without one's own principles or direction. It also describes a life of aimless wandering, hardship, and being tossed about by circumstances beyond one's control.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom first appears in Yuan dynasty zaju drama. In Shang Zhongxian's play 'Liu Yi Delivers a Letter' (《柳毅传书》), Act 4, a separated couple is described as being swept apart like 'riding the waves and chasing the surf.' It also appears in Shi Deyu's 'Purple Cloud Pavilion' (《紫云亭》), Act 4, where the great poet Su Dongpo is said to have been 'riding the waves' after being moved by a passionate love song. Both uses evoke the image of being carried along helplessly by forces larger than oneself.
💡 Example Usage
他在商海中趁波逐浪几十年，到头来却一事无成。
He spent decades riding the waves of the business world, only to end up with nothing to show for it.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 趁波逐浪
- Pinyin: chèn bō zhú làng
- Literal Translation: ride, wave, chase, wave
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4