📖 Meaning
To gird one's robe and bind up one's hair in a formal topknot. This describes the act of dressing formally to take up an official position. It symbolizes leaving seclusion to enter government service.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Tang Dynasty scholar Han Yu's essay 'Zheng Chen Lun' (On the Contending Official). In it, Han Yu describes how hermits and worthy men living in mountain retreats, upon hearing of a virtuous and just government, would formally dress and bind their hair, eager to present themselves at the palace gates to offer their service. The image evokes the Confucian ideal that talented scholars should emerge from obscurity to serve when the state is worthy of their loyalty.
💡 Example Usage
古代读书人束带结发，皆盼望能入仕报国。
In ancient times, scholars would gird their robes and bind their hair, all hoping to enter government service and serve their country.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 束带结发
- Pinyin: shù dài jié fā
- Literal Translation: tie belt, knot hair
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4