📖 Meaning
Refers to an upright, honest, and incorruptible official. The imagery of white silk and a lamb symbolizes purity and integrity in public service. It is used to praise officials who are self-disciplined and free from corruption.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from the Classic of Poetry (诗经), specifically the poem '羔羊' (The Lamb) in the Zhou Nan (周南) section, composed during the Western Zhou dynasty. The poem depicts a virtuous official clad in a lamb-skin robe fastened with white silk cords, returning modestly from court after a simple meal. The white silk and lamb imagery came to represent moral purity and gentle integrity. Over centuries, '素丝羔羊' evolved into a standing metaphor for honest and upright officials in Chinese political culture.
💡 Example Usage
他为官清廉，堪称素丝羔羊，深受百姓爱戴。
He served as an official with unblemished integrity, truly a man of pure silk and lamb, and was deeply loved by the people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 素丝羔羊
- Pinyin: sù sī gāo yáng
- Literal Translation: plain silk, lamb
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4