📖 Meaning
To wear the garments of a marquis and eat jade-like delicacies. It describes a life of extraordinary luxury and extravagance, where one dresses in noble attire and dines on the finest foods. The idiom conveys a lifestyle of opulent excess comparable to royalty.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the 'Book of Han' (汉书), specifically the 'Biographical Appendix' (叙传下) by Ban Gu of the Eastern Han dynasty. The original text reads '侯服王食，败俗伤化,' criticizing those who dressed in noble robes and consumed lavish meals, thereby corrupting public morals and customs. The phrase was later refined into the four-character form 侯服玉食, preserving the imagery of aristocratic indulgence. The 'Book of Jin' (晋书) also employed the idiom in its biography of Xiahou Zhan to describe his family's extravagant lifestyle.
💡 Example Usage
他出身显贵，终日侯服玉食，不知民间疾苦。
Born into nobility, he lived each day in marquis robes and jade delicacies, never knowing the suffering of the common people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 侯服玉食
- Pinyin: hóu fú yù shí
- Literal Translation: marquis, clothing, jade, food
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4