📖 Meaning
This idiom literally means a hat and shoes are put in the wrong order, with the hat where the shoes belong and vice versa. Metaphorically, it describes a situation where the order of superior and subordinate is reversed, and proper hierarchy is disregarded.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the 'Book of Later Han' (《后汉书》), specifically in the Biography of Yang Ci. Yang Ci, an official during the Eastern Han dynasty, used the expression to criticize political disorder where social hierarchy was turned upside down. The full original text reads '冠履倒易，陵谷代处,' meaning hats and shoes are swapped, and hills and valleys exchange places. Over time, the variant '冠履倒置' became the more commonly cited form.
💡 Example Usage
朝廷上下不分，冠履倒置，国政日渐败坏。
The court ignored the distinction between superior and subordinate, turning hierarchy upside down, and state affairs gradually deteriorated.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 冠履倒置
- Pinyin: guān lǚ dào zhì
- Literal Translation: hat, shoes, inverted, placed
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4