📖 Meaning
Describes the formal attire of ancient Chinese scholar-officials: a tall ceremonial hat and a wide waist sash. The idiom evokes the dignified, stately bearing of the literati class and is often used figuratively to suggest someone of elevated status or refined appearance.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom first appears in Guan Hanqing's Yuan dynasty zaju play 'Xie Tianxiang' (《谢天香》), where it describes a renowned scholar-official's noble appearance. It was later popularized by Luo Guanzhong in the Ming dynasty classic 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' (《三国演义》), Chapter 37, where a visitor of extraordinary bearing is announced as wearing 'a high hat and broad sash.' The phrase became a stock image for the idealized Confucian gentleman-official.
💡 Example Usage
那位峨冠博带的老先生缓步走进大厅，气度不凡。
The elderly gentleman in a high hat and broad sash walked slowly into the hall, his bearing extraordinary.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 峨冠博带
- Pinyin: é guān bó dài
- Literal Translation: high hat, broad sash
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4