📖 Meaning
To take off one's clothes and expose the body, referring to rude, indecent, or shameless behavior. The idiom emphasizes a lack of proper manners or propriety in public. It can also describe someone completely unguarded or shameless in conduct.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the Book of Mencius (《孟子·公孙丑上》), written by Mencius and his disciples during the Warring States period. It quotes Liuxia Hui (柳下惠), a virtuous official of the state of Lu in the Spring and Autumn period, who declared: 'You are you, and I am I; even if you strip naked beside me, how could you defile me?' The phrase illustrates his extraordinary moral purity and imperviousness to the indecency of others. Later writers, such as Chen Liang of the Southern Song dynasty, used it to contrast figures like Boyi, who was ashamed to associate with common people, with Liuxia Hui, who remained untainted by shameless company.
💡 Example Usage
在公共场合袒裼裸裎，实在是有失体统。
Exposing one's body in public is truly a breach of proper conduct.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 袒裼裸裎
- Pinyin: tǎn xī luǒ chéng
- Literal Translation: bare arms, strip garment, naked, expose body
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4