📖 Meaning
A euphemism for sexual impropriety or scandal within a household. '帏薄' refers to the curtains and bamboo screens separating the inner women's quarters, and '不修' means they are not properly kept up, metaphorically indicating a breakdown in domestic moral boundaries between the sexes. It is a refined, indirect way of saying a family has fallen into sexual disorder.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase stems from classical Chinese domestic life, where '帏薄' (also written '帷箔') denoted the curtains and woven screens used to partition the inner quarters of a home—the domain of women. When these barriers were said to be 'not maintained' (不修), it signaled that the proper separation between men and women in the household had broken down, a delicate circumlocution for sexual scandal. The expression appears in various historical and literary texts as a tactful way to describe such disgrace without stating it bluntly. Over time it became a stock euphemism in official and literati writing for household immorality.
💡 Example Usage
他因帏薄不修之事被御史弹劾，最终罢官归乡。
He was impeached by the censor for impropriety in his household and ultimately dismissed from office, returning home in disgrace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 帏薄不修
- Pinyin: wéi báo bù xiū
- Literal Translation: curtain, screen, not, maintained
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4