📖 Meaning
To conduct investigations both openly and in secret, gathering information through multiple channels. It describes making a thorough, all-round inquiry into a situation rather than relying on a single source.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Qing dynasty author Liu E's novel 'The Travels of Lao Can' (老残游记), Chapter 18. In the story, an official handling a case of thirteen suspicious deaths dispatches an assistant to Qi Dong village, instructing him to investigate openly and inquire covertly to determine whether the victims had been poisoned. The case is ultimately resolved through this patient, multi-angle fact-gathering, and the expression came to be used for any careful, many-sided investigation.
💡 Example Usage
为了查清这桩陈年旧案，警方在全县范围内明查暗访了三个多月。
To get to the bottom of the cold case, the police carried out open and covert inquiries across the county for more than three months.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 明查暗访
- Pinyin: míng chá àn fǎng
- Literal Translation: openly investigate, secretly inquire
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4