📖 Meaning
Describes people who move or relocate as easily and lightly as a bird taking flight, indifferent to staying or leaving. The phrase conveys a population or person that is hard to pin down or govern because of this readiness to drift away.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Qing dynasty scholar Mei Zengliang's essay 'Shu Li Linsun Shi' (书李林孙事, An Account of Li Linsun). In the text, Mei describes Henan as a region crisscrossed by roads in every direction, writing that the inhabitants were '轻徙鸟举不可制' — prone to light, birdlike flight that could not be restrained. The remark highlighted how geography and mobility made such populations ungovernable, a recurring concern for Qing officials dealing with transient commoners.
💡 Example Usage
此地百姓轻徙鸟举，官府难以管辖。
The people here come and go as lightly as birds taking flight, making them hard for the authorities to govern.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 轻徙鸟举
- Pinyin: qīng xǐ niǎo jǔ
- Literal Translation: light, move, bird, rise
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4