📖 Meaning
To look east and gaze west, meaning to glance around in all directions. It describes someone anxiously or cautiously surveying their surroundings to check for activity or danger.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Volume 26 of 'Yushi Mingyan' (Stories to Enlighten the World) by Feng Menglong of the Ming Dynasty. In the story, the character Zhang Gong becomes panicked and looks around in all directions, afraid that someone might catch sight of him. The phrase vividly captures the nervous, furtive behavior of a person worried about being discovered.
💡 Example Usage
他急得东观西望，生怕被人发现。
He was so anxious that he kept glancing around in every direction, afraid of being discovered.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 东观西望
- Pinyin: dōng guāng xī wàng
- Literal Translation: east, look, west, gaze
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4