📖 Meaning
Describes officials who engage in corruption and bribery, with a reputation so thoroughly ruined that it cannot be salvaged. The phrase conveys a sense of disgrace and disorder so complete that it is beyond repair.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase appears in the 'Records of the Three Kingdoms' (三国志), in the 'Book of Wei: Annals of Emperor Wu,' which chronicles Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty. The text notes that local officials frequently curried favor with wealthy and powerful families, engaging in corruption and bribery that left their reputations in total disgrace. The term 狼藉 originally evokes the image of wolves scattering their bedding and food into a disorganized mess, metaphorically describing irreparable disorder and shame.
💡 Example Usage
那些官员脏污狼藉，败坏了朝廷的声誉。
Those officials were corrupt and disgraced, ruining the reputation of the imperial court.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 脏污狼藉
- Pinyin: zāng wū láng jí
- Literal Translation: filthy, tainted, wolf, scattered
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4