📖 Meaning
To revere someone as if they were a deity. It describes worshipping or adoring a person or thing to an extreme degree. The expression is most often used in a derogatory sense, implying excessive or blind reverence.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Zuo Zhuan (《左传·襄公十四年》), a foundational historical text from the Spring and Autumn period. In the fourteenth year of Duke Xiang of Lu, the text describes how the common people should regard their ruler: loving him as parents, looking up to him as the sun and moon, respecting him as the gods, and fearing him as thunder. Over time, the expression evolved into the four-character idiom 敬若神明, typically used to criticize those who place someone on an inappropriately high pedestal.
💡 Example Usage
他对那位导师敬若神明，从不质疑其任何观点。
He reveres that mentor as a deity and never questions any of his views.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 敬若神明
- Pinyin: jìng ruò shén míng
- Literal Translation: respect, as if, gods, spirits
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4