📖 Meaning
To seek news and inquire about information. It describes the act of actively trying to learn about someone's whereabouts or the latest developments of a situation by asking around.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Volume 13 of 'Xingshi Hengyan' (Stories to Awaken the World) by Feng Menglong of the Ming Dynasty. In the original passage, a scholar, though admiring the talent of a woman named Mu Xiaomei, feared damaging his own reputation and refused to follow the crowd in seeking news and asking about her. The phrase reflects the Ming-era social practice where people would actively inquire about and gather information about notable figures.
💡 Example Usage
他四处寻消问息，终于打听到了失散多年兄弟的下落。
He went around seeking news and asking for information, and finally learned the whereabouts of his long-lost brother.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 寻消问息
- Pinyin: xún xiāo wèn xī
- Literal Translation: seek, news, ask, information
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4