📖 Meaning
Holding a very high government office along with an illustrious noble title. It describes someone whose official position and aristocratic rank are both exceptionally eminent, often conveying power, prestige, and social standing.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from Ming dynasty playwright Xu Yuan's drama 'The Tale of Eight Righteous Men' (《八义记》), in the chapter 'Suspecting Zhao Xuan'. The line reads: 'Those who submit to me shall receive high office and illustrious rank; those who defy me shall have their clans exterminated and perish.' The quote portrays an autocratic ruler wielding absolute power to reward obedience with grand titles and punish dissent with annihilation.
💡 Example Usage
他靠着阿谀奉承换来了高官显爵，却早已丧失了做人的骨气。
He traded away his integrity through flattery and won himself high office and a noble title, yet he had long lost the backbone that makes a man.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 高官显爵
- Pinyin: gāo guān xiǎn jué
- Literal Translation: high, official, prominent, noble rank
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4