📖 Meaning
A polite and elegant compliment referring to someone's book collection. It likens the recipient's library to that of the Marquis of Ye, a Tang Dynasty scholar renowned for his vast and valuable holdings. The phrase conveys deep respect for the owner's erudition and literary taste.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Li Mi (李泌, 722–789), a distinguished statesman and strategist of the Tang Dynasty who served four emperors and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Ye (邺侯). Li Mi was as much a bibliophile as a politician; his family amassed a legendary library said to contain over thirty thousand volumes, an extraordinary number in an age before printing. Over time, the term 'Ye shelves' (邺架) became a byword for a magnificent private library, and '邺架之藏' evolved into the standard courteous phrase for praising another person's book collection.
💡 Example Usage
久仰先生邺架之藏，今日得见，三生有幸。
I have long heard of your esteemed book collection, sir; to see it with my own eyes today is a rare privilege.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 邺架之藏
- Pinyin: yè jià zhī cáng
- Literal Translation: Marquis of Ye, shelves, of, collection
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4