📖 Meaning
To give free rein to one's appetites and recklessly pursue one's desires. It describes someone who abandons all restraint and chases after whatever they crave or lust for.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Book of Han' (汉书), specifically in the biography of the Western Han dynasty scholar Yang Xiong (扬雄). The passage describes bold, spirited men who, driven by passionate vigor and divergent ambitions, roam in every direction—east, west, south, and north—indulging their cravings and rushing headlong after their desires. Yang Xiong used this imagery to depict those who pursue worldly pleasures without any restraint.
💡 Example Usage
他年轻时骋耆奔欲，挥霍无度，到老来才幡然悔悟。
In his youth he gave free rein to his appetites and squandered his wealth recklessly, only coming to his senses in old age.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 骋耆奔欲
- Pinyin: chěng qí bēn yù
- Literal Translation: gallop, craving, run, desire
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4