📖 Meaning
To straighten one's clothes and sit up straight and proper. It describes someone sitting in a solemn, serious, or restrained manner, often due to respect, nervousness, or the gravity of a situation.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the 'Biographies of Diviners' (日者列传) in Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记), written during the Western Han dynasty. In the story, the officials Song Zhong and Jia Yi, upon hearing profound words from a diviner, were suddenly awakened and impressed. They instinctively straightened their lapels and sat upright in a posture of respect and attentiveness. The anecdote illustrates how encountering wisdom or authority can immediately shift one into a serious, reverent bearing.
💡 Example Usage
讲座开始后，全场听众正襟危坐，认真聆听教授的讲解。
After the lecture began, the entire audience sat upright and attentive, carefully listening to the professor's explanation.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 正襟危坐
- Pinyin: zhèng jīn wēi zuò
- Literal Translation: straighten, lapel, upright, sit
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4