📖 Meaning
To deliberately act profound and conspicuously set oneself apart from the crowd. It describes someone who cultivates an air of unusual depth and eccentricity merely to appear superior by being different.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Warring States period text 《荀子·非十二子》, written by the Confucian philosopher Xunzi in the 3rd century BCE. Xunzi used it to criticize thinkers who suppressed their true nature and adopted bizarre, contrarian views merely to flaunt their superiority, arguing such posturing cannot unite the masses or illuminate the great moral principles. The Qing dynasty scholar Wang Xianqian glossed '綦溪' as 'extremely deep' and '利' as a variant of '离' (to depart), portraying a figure who leaves the world behind to stand alone. Another reading interprets the phrase as 'treading a crooked path and delighting in divergent byways instead of the proper road.'
💡 Example Usage
他学问浅薄却綦溪利跂，总爱提出奇谈怪论来标榜自己与众不同。
Despite his shallow learning, he deliberately acts profound and eccentric, always advancing bizarre theories to flaunt his difference from everyone else.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 綦溪利跂
- Pinyin: qí xī lì guì
- Literal Translation: extremely-deep, depart-stand-apart
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4