📖 Meaning
To carry a gold official seal in one's bosom and wear a purple silk ribbon at the waist. It describes a person who holds a high-ranking government position, symbolizing great power, prestige, and official rank in ancient China.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the official dress code of ancient China's imperial bureaucracy. The 'yellow' refers to the gold seal (金印) that high-ranking officials carried, while the 'purple' refers to the purple silk ribbon (紫绶) used to tie the seal and worn as a mark of rank. The phrase appears in the 'Liang Shu' (Book of Liang), in the biography of Chen Bozhi, praising those who contributed strategic counsel in the command tent and those who undertook frontier military responsibilities. The idiom is synonymous with '佩紫怀黄', which reverses the word order but carries the same meaning.
💡 Example Usage
他苦读十年，终于怀黄佩紫，位列三公。
After ten years of arduous study, he finally carried a gold seal and wore a purple ribbon, rising to the rank of the Three Ducal Ministers.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 怀黄佩紫
- Pinyin: huái huáng pèi zǐ
- Literal Translation: bosom, yellow, wear, purple
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4