📖 Meaning
Describes a swarm of people flocking to curry favor with someone powerful or influential, like ants and flies clustering around a food source. It conveys the image of obsequious, fawning crowds relentlessly pursuing personal gain through association with the powerful.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from the Ming Dynasty work 'Ye Huo Bian' (《野获编》) by Shen Defu, in a section titled 'Military Officials Dabbling in Literature.' Shen observed that when a military official named Ji Xin showed interest in literary pursuits, self-styled literati and hangers-on would swarm to him in droves, following his military campaigns, addressing him flatteringly as 'Master of Poetry,' and dispersing only to return again. The phrase mocks the shameless opportunism of those who attach themselves to anyone with influence, regardless of merit.
💡 Example Usage
权贵门前，蚁附蝇集者络绎不绝。
At the gates of the powerful, those who swarm like ants and flies come in an endless stream.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 蚁附蝇集
- Pinyin: yǐ fù yíng jí
- Literal Translation: ants attach, flies gather
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4