📖 Meaning
Originally describing how Confucius and Mozi traveled so constantly that their stove chimney never had time to blacken and their seating mat never had time to warm. It describes someone so busy with worldly affairs that they rush about from place to place without rest.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces to the Huainanzi (淮南子·修务训), a Western Han dynasty text compiled under Liu An, which states 'Confucius had no blackened chimney, Mozi had no warm mat.' The Eastern Han scholar Ban Gu later echoed this in his 'Reply to a Guest's Mockery' (答宾戏), writing that sage rulers hurried restlessly, with Confucius's mat never warming and Mozi's chimney never blackening. The phrase commemorates the tireless dedication of these ancient philosophers who devoted themselves to their causes.
💡 Example Usage
那位外交官一生黔突暖席，奔波于各国之间。
The diplomat spent his whole life rushing about tirelessly, traveling between nations.
🏷️ Category
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🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 黔突暖席
- Pinyin: qián tū nuǎn xí
- Literal Translation: blackened, chimney, warm, mat
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4