📖 Meaning
To withdraw from society and live in seclusion, severing ties with worldly affairs. It describes the attitude of a recluse who abandons mundane life to pursue a secluded, detached existence away from the noise of the world.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single recorded origin story. It combines "轻举" (to lightly depart) and "绝俗" (to cut off from the worldly), echoing the ancient Daoist ideal of leaving behind secular life for spiritual transcendence. Such language appears throughout classical Chinese literature describing hermits and scholars who retreated from public office. The phrase reflects the enduring literati aspiration toward reclusion that recurs in texts from the Wei-Jin period onward.
💡 Example Usage
他厌倦官场纷争，决意轻举绝俗，归隐山林。
Weary of court politics, he resolved to withdraw from the world and retreat to the mountains.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 轻举绝俗
- Pinyin: qīng jǔ jué sú
- Literal Translation: lightly, rise, cut off, worldly
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4