📖 Meaning
To receive orders and carry them out with the utmost care and caution. It describes a person who obeys commands obediently and executes duties meticulously, daring not to show the slightest negligence.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from 'Chuo Geng Lu' (辍耕录, 'Records of Resting from Plowing'), a noted work by Tao Zongyi of the Ming dynasty. In Volume 15, the text states that various officials received imperial commands and carried them out with the greatest care and reverence. The phrase embodies the Confucian virtue of respecting authority and performing one's duties diligently and conscientiously.
💡 Example Usage
下属奉命唯谨，不敢有丝毫懈怠。
The subordinate received his orders with the utmost care and diligence, not daring to show the slightest negligence.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 奉命唯谨
- Pinyin: fèng mìng wéi jǐn
- Literal Translation: receive orders, only, cautious
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4