📖 Meaning
To retire from public office and return to private life. The idiom describes the act of an elderly official hanging up his official carriage—a symbol of active service—and formally declaring his retirement to live out his remaining years in seclusion at home.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from a Han dynasty stele inscription by Cai Yong (蔡邕) for Chen Shi (陈寔), a respected Eastern Han scholar-official. The inscription records that when Chen Shi reached the age of seventy, he withdrew to the hills and mountains, 'suspended his carriage and announced his old age,' with all four gates observing proper rites as he settled into a quiet, contemplative retirement. The phrase later appeared in the Yuan dynasty prose of Jie Xisi (揭傒斯), who praised an official named Wenjie for retiring at sixty and living nearly twenty more years in seclusion.
💡 Example Usage
年过七十，他便悬车告老，归隐山林。
After passing seventy, he suspended his carriage and announced his retirement, returning to live in seclusion among the mountains.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 悬车告老
- Pinyin: xuán chē gào lǎo
- Literal Translation: suspend, chariot, announce, old age
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4