📖 Meaning
To abandon a wicked path and return to the right one. It means to stop doing bad deeds and start living an upright, moral life. The phrase is used to describe someone who has reformed after a period of wrongdoing.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from 'Water Margin' (水浒全传) by Shi Nai'an of the Ming Dynasty. In Chapter 91, the general is urged to abandon his crooked ways and join Song Jiang and others in serving the nation, promising that the imperial court will employ him properly. The phrase reflects the traditional Chinese value of moral rehabilitation and loyalty to the state. A similar usage appears in Wu Cheng'en's 'Journey to the West' (西游记), Chapter 14.
💡 Example Usage
经过多年的教育，他终于改邪归正，重新做人了。
After years of education, he finally turned his life around and started anew.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 改邪归正
- Pinyin: gǎi xié guī zhèng
- Literal Translation: change, evil, return, correct
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4