📖 Meaning
To hang up one's carriage and retire from government office, referring to an official retiring in old age. In ancient times, officials were expected to retire at seventy, symbolized by putting away their carriage to show they would no longer serve. It conveys the idea of gracefully stepping down to make way for the next generation.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Ban Gu's Bai Hu Tong (白虎通) of the Han dynasty. It records that a minister at age seventy should retire, because by then his hearing and sight decline and he can no longer serve effectively. Hanging up the carriage symbolized that it would no longer be used for travel to court. This practice of retiring at seventy was seen as a way to preserve integrity and modesty, yielding one's post to more capable successors.
💡 Example Usage
他年逾七十，上书悬车致仕，归隐故里。
Over seventy years old, he petitioned to retire from office and returned to his hometown in seclusion.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 悬车致仕
- Pinyin: xuán chē zhì shì
- Literal Translation: hang up, carriage, retire from, office
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4