📖 Meaning
To hold firm to the right path and refuse to bend or compromise one's principles. It describes someone who stays true to moral integrity despite pressure, temptation, or adversity. The idiom emphasizes unwavering steadfastness in doing what is correct.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase draws on the long Confucian tradition of moral steadfastness, where keeping to the righteous way (守正) is regarded as the hallmark of a noble person. The character 回 here means 'to turn back' or 'to waver,' rather than 'to return.' Although no single classical text is cited as its definitive source, its usage echoes the language of Han and Tang era memorials and admonitions urging officials to remain uncompromised. It belongs to a family of expressions about clinging to principle regardless of consequence.
💡 Example Usage
面对威逼利诱，他始终守正不回，赢得了众人的敬重。
Faced with threats and temptations, he remained unwavering on the righteous path and earned everyone's respect.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 守正不回
- Pinyin: shǒu zhèng bù huí
- Literal Translation: keep, upright, not, turn back
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4