📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to petty street peddlers and low-ranking attendants or servants. It broadly denotes people of low social status and humble occupation. The phrase is used to emphasize that something reaches even the lowest strata of society.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a Qing dynasty epitaph, 'Epitaph for Wang Zhongqu' (王仲瞿墓表铭), written by the scholar Gong Zizhen (龚自珍). In it, Gong describes the extraordinary fame of the scholar Wang Zhongqu, noting that from south of the Yangtze to north of the Yellow River, reaching as far as Fujian, Guangdong, and Rehe, even peddlers and servants all knew of 'Scholar Wang.' The idiom thus illustrates how a person's reputation could spread so widely that it reached even the humblest members of society.
💡 Example Usage
他的名声远播，连贩夫驺卒都知道他的事迹。
His fame spread so far and wide that even peddlers and servants knew of his deeds.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 贩夫驺卒
- Pinyin: fàn fū zōu zú
- Literal Translation: peddler, man, groom, soldier
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4