📖 Meaning
Bribery and corruption are rampant and widespread. It describes a society or institution where offering and accepting bribes has become commonplace at every level.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Zuo Zhuan (左传·昭公六年), a foundational historical text of the Spring and Autumn period. In the sixth year of Duke Zhao of Lu, it was recorded that legal disputes were multiplying and bribery was being practiced everywhere in the state of Zheng. The passage warned that if such corruption continued throughout the ruler's reign, Zheng would ultimately meet its downfall.
💡 Example Usage
官场腐败，贿赂并行，百姓苦不堪言。
Officialdom was rife with corruption, bribery ran rampant everywhere, and the common people suffered bitterly.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 贿赂并行
- Pinyin: huì lù bìng xíng
- Literal Translation: bribery, simultaneously, practiced
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4