📖 Meaning
Describes how people collectively imitate or follow a trend, turning it into a prevailing custom or fashion. It conveys the force of social conformity, where once something gains traction, the masses fall in line almost without resistance, like grass bending in the wind.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Li Zhi (李贽), a radical Ming dynasty thinker, in his letter 'Reply to Ma Lishan' (《答马历山书》). He wrote that had Wang Ji (王龙溪, also known as Longxi), a prominent disciple of the philosopher Wang Yangming, not spent fifty to sixty years faithfully preserving and transmitting his master's teachings without alteration, those teachings might never have swept through the scholarly world with such overwhelming force. The phrase was later used by Qing dynasty scholar Wang Xianqian (王先谦) in his preface to the 'Continuation of the Classified Compendium of Ancient Prose' (《续古文辞类纂》), where he praised Yao Nai (姚鼐, known as Xibao) for reviving a long-lost scholarly tradition, causing the entire country to follow suit.
💡 Example Usage
此说一出，学界靡然从风，争相附和。
Once this theory was put forward, the academic world fell in line like grass before the wind, vying to echo it.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 靡然从风
- Pinyin: mǐ rán cóng fēng
- Literal Translation: drift, thus, follow, wind
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4