📖 Meaning
To issue an order expelling guests or visitors. It figuratively means a host driving away unwelcome guests. The phrase originates from Qin Shi Huang's historical decree to expel foreign advisors from the state of Qin.
📜 Origin Story
In 237 BC, during the Warring States period, King Zheng of Qin (the future Qin Shi Huang) discovered that Zheng Guo, a hydraulic engineer sent by the state of Han, was actually a spy sent to exhaust Qin's resources by building an irrigation canal. Enraged by this infiltration, the King of Qin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of all foreign guest officials (客卿) from the state. Li Si, a native of Chu then serving as a guest official in Qin, wrote his famous memorial '谏逐客书' (Memorial Against the Expulsion of Guest Officials), arguing that Qin's rise depended on talent from other states. Persuaded by Li Si's argument, the king rescinded the order, and the phrase '下逐客令' later became a general term for a host driving away unwelcome guests.
💡 Example Usage
见客人久坐不去，主人只好下逐客令，催他早点离开。
Seeing the guest linger without leaving, the host had to issue an expulsion order, urging him to leave early.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 下逐客令
- Pinyin: xià zhú kè lìng
- Literal Translation: issue, expel, guest, order
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4