📖 Meaning
To follow directly in the footsteps of worthy predecessors, imitating their example and continuing their work. It conveys respect for those who came before and a commitment to carry their legacy forward. Used mostly in formal or literary praise of someone who upholds tradition or continues a cause.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase has no single definitive source; it is a later four-character compound formed from two older elements. The core term 踵武, literally 'to follow heel to footprint,' appears in Qu Yuan's Li Sao (《离骚》, Warring States Chu): '宛踵武而未改' — 'I follow in those footsteps and do not change.' 前贤 refers to worthy men of the past, a usage common in Tang and later prose and poetry. The combined form 踵武前贤 circulated in modern commemorative and eulogistic writing, praising someone for emulating the virtue of predecessors.
💡 Example Usage
他在序言中表示，愿踵武前贤，将毕生精力投入教育事业。
In the preface he wrote that he wished to follow in the footsteps of worthy predecessors and devote his life to education.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 踵武前贤
- Pinyin: zhǒng wǔ qián xián
- Literal Translation: heel, footprint, former, worthy
- Category: Learning
- Characters: 4