📖 Meaning
Literally "a standing bookshelf." It is a metaphor for someone who has read extensively and possesses broad, deep knowledge. The idiom praises a person of great learning and erudition, as though their mind holds an entire library.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the "Song Shi" (History of Song), in the biography of the Song Dynasty scholar Wu Shi. Wu Shi was renowned for composing essays effortlessly, never needing to draft beforehand—his writing was complete the moment his brush touched the paper. The scholars at the Imperial Academy, amazed by his encyclopedic learning, gave him the nickname "立地书橱," meaning a walking, standing bookshelf, because he seemed to carry an entire library in his mind.
💡 Example Usage
他是我们系的立地书橱，古今中外的典籍几乎都读过。
He is the walking bookshelf of our department, having read nearly every classic text, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 立地书橱
- Pinyin: lì dì shū chú
- Literal Translation: stand, ground, book, bookshelf
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4