📖 Meaning
To blow one's own horn and sing one's own praises; to boast and flatter oneself. It describes someone who shamelessly promotes their own achievements or abilities without external validation.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom was coined by the modern writer Lu Xun (Lu Hsun) in his essay collection 'Hua Bian Wen Xue' (Frivolous Writings), specifically in the piece 'Hua Ming Xin Fa' (New Methods of Using Pseudonyms), written during the 1930s. Lu Xun criticized writers who adopted collective pseudonyms to manufacture the illusion of a literary circle, thereby praising themselves from behind a facade of multiple voices. He regarded such behavior as not only pretentious but also somewhat despicable, hence the phrase '自吹自捧' to condemn self-aggrandizement.
💡 Example Usage
他总喜欢自吹自捧，说自己是什么大才，其实没人把他当回事。
He always likes to blow his own trumpet and praise himself, claiming to be a great talent, when in fact nobody takes him seriously.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 自吹自捧
- Pinyin: zì chuī zì pěng
- Literal Translation: self, blow, self, praise
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4