📖 Meaning
A household that for generations has devoted itself to classical learning and observed traditional Confucian rites as its code of conduct. It describes a refined, scholarly family whose members are steeped in literature and propriety. The term carries a tone of respect for genteel upbringing and moral cultivation.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase draws on the Confucian ideal that a family's legacy should rest on the study of poetry (诗) and the practice of rites (礼), the two disciplines Confucius urged upon his own son. Over the centuries, '诗礼' came to stand for a household's commitment to letters and propriety, while '人家' simply means a family or household. Together the idiom evokes a lineage where scholarship and etiquette are passed down from one generation to the next. No single text is cited as its origin; it crystallizes a long-standing cultural type rather than a specific anecdote.
💡 Example Usage
他出身于诗礼人家，自幼便熟读经史，待人接物都恪守礼数。
Born into a household steeped in poetry and rites, he had read the classics since childhood and observed every propriety in his dealings with others.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 诗礼人家
- Pinyin: shī lǐ rén jiā
- Literal Translation: poetry, rites, household
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4