📖 Meaning
Describes walking slowly and unhurriedly, often with a leisurely or self-satisfied air. It conveys a relaxed, unhurried pace rather than any sense of urgency.
📜 Origin Story
Derived from the Book of Songs (Shijing), the 'Wang Feng' section, in the poem 'Qiu Zhong You Ma' (There Is Hemp on the Hill), which dates from the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn period. The line '彼留子嗟，将其来施施' pictures someone approaching with slow, lingering steps. The poem itself voices a woman's longing for her absent beloved, and '施施' later combined with '而行' to form the idiom for walking at a leisurely pace.
💡 Example Usage
傍晚时分，他沿河堤施施而行，尽享难得的闲适。
At dusk he strolled slowly along the riverbank, savoring a rare moment of leisure.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 施施而行
- Pinyin: shī shī ér xíng
- Literal Translation: slowly, slowly, and, walk
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4