📖 Meaning
Describes someone holding high official rank and noble status. Red (朱) and purple (紫) refer to the colors of the silk ribbon cords (印绶) worn as insignia by top-ranking officials in imperial China. The idiom evokes the image of a grandee adorned with the sashes of the highest government offices.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Jin dynasty scholar Ge Hong's work Baopuzi, in the chapter 'Yimin' (The Recluse), where he writes: 'Why must one wear red and trail purple, don a ceremonial cap and ride in a carriage?' Ge Hong was contrasting the pursuit of high office with the life of a hermit who shuns worldly ambition. Red and purple were the colors of the silk cords attached to the official seals of the highest-ranking ministers, making them a metonymy for power and prestige.
💡 Example Usage
朝堂之上，纡朱曳紫者皆是朝廷重臣。
In the imperial court, those who wore red and purple sashes were all the most powerful ministers of the realm.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 纡朱曳紫
- Pinyin: yū zhū yè zǐ
- Literal Translation: wear red, drag purple
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4