📖 Meaning
The emperor's carriage is scattered abroad, meaning the emperor is forced to flee and wander in exile outside the capital. It describes the plight of a sovereign driven from the throne and reduced to wandering. The term conveys the humiliation and disorder of a dynasty in crisis.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase draws on the classical convention of using 'imperial carriage' (乘舆) as a metonym for the emperor himself. 'Bo yue' (播越) means to be scattered or driven far afield. Such language was frequently invoked in historical writing when recounting episodes of imperial flight, such as during the collapse of the Western Jin or the turbulence of the late Tang, when sovereigns were forced to abandon their capitals and wander among provincial warlords. No single canonical source is cited for the exact four-character form, but the imagery is firmly rooted in dynastic histories that chronicled the fall of courts and the displacement of rulers.
💡 Example Usage
安史之乱中，乘舆播越，天子仓皇西幸，社稷几为之倾。
During the An Lushan Rebellion, the emperor fled into exile, hastily seeking refuge in the west, and the dynasty was nearly brought to ruin.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 乘舆播越
- Pinyin: chéng yú bō yuè
- Literal Translation: imperial, carriage, scatter, flee
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4