📖 Meaning
To drift along with the currents of the world, conforming to prevailing customs and opinions without independent judgment. It describes someone who goes with the flow and adapts to whatever is fashionable or popular in society rather than holding firm to their own principles.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a Song dynasty epitaph written by the historian Sima Guang (司马光) titled '右班殿直傅君墓志铭' (Epitaph for Lord Fu of the Right Guard). Sima Guang described Lord Fu as someone who 'could not drift with the world' (不能与世浮沉), who looked at nobles and officials as if they were nobody, which caused him friction wherever he went. The phrase originally praised those who refused to blindly follow worldly trends. Later, the Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling (蒲松龄) employed the idiom in his celebrated collection 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' (聊斋志异), contrasting the steadfast heroine Shang Sanguan with those who merely drift with the crowd.
💡 Example Usage
他一生坚持原则，从不与世浮沉，赢得了众人的尊敬。
He stuck to his principles throughout his life, never drifting with the crowd, and earned the respect of all.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 与世浮沉
- Pinyin: yǔ shì fú chén
- Literal Translation: with, world, float, sink
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4