📖 Meaning
To make decisions and act entirely on one's own, without consulting or considering others' opinions. It describes a dictatorial, undemocratic style of leadership or behavior.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom first appears in Chapter 19 of Rong Hong's (容闳) 'My Life in China and America' (《西学东渐记》), written during the late Qing Dynasty. Rong Hong (1828–1912) was a pioneering Chinese educational reformer and the first Chinese graduate of Yale University. In the passage, he states that he was prepared to resign at any time so that the other party could make decisions and act on his own without interference.
💡 Example Usage
他在公司里独断独行，从不听取员工的建议。
He runs the company in a dictatorial manner, never listening to his employees' suggestions.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 独断独行
- Pinyin: dú duàn dú xíng
- Literal Translation: alone, decide, alone, act
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4