📖 Meaning
To rely on one's official position and authority to bully or oppress others. It describes someone who abuses government power for personal intimidation. The phrase carries a strong negative connotation about the corrupt use of bureaucratic authority.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in Yuan dynasty dramas, notably Guan Hanqing's 'The Jade Mirror Stand' (玉镜台), where a character boasts of holding provincial affairs, military power, and high office, then speaks of relying on official authority at social gatherings. It also appears in Wu Hanchen's 'The Jade Pot Spring' (玉壶春), which questions how anyone could act in such a manner rather than following justice and reason. Both plays critique the corrupt practice of leveraging bureaucratic status to intimidate others. The phrase later became common in Ming vernacular literature as a standard expression for abusing authority.
💡 Example Usage
他倚官挟势，欺压百姓，终被革职查办。
Relying on his official authority, he oppressed the common people and was eventually dismissed and investigated.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 倚官挟势
- Pinyin: yǐ guān xié shì
- Literal Translation: lean on, official, wield, power
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4