📖 Meaning
This idiom describes being sidelined or assigned to an unimportant, idle position due to lack of favor or recognition. It can also refer to waiting a long time for a job assignment or an audience without being attended to.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from Gao Yang's Qing dynasty novel '胭脂井' (The Rouge Well), where Empress Dowager Cixi declares she would never let a certain Mr. Li 'sit on a cold bench' as long as she holds power. The phrase draws on the imagery of a supplicant left waiting on a cold wooden bench in an official's outer courtyard, ignored and unattended. Over time, it became a metaphor for professional stagnation and being frozen out of meaningful work.
💡 Example Usage
他被调到后勤部坐冷板凳，每天无所事事。
He was transferred to the logistics department to sit on the cold bench, with nothing to do every day.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 坐冷板凳
- Pinyin: zuò lěng bǎn dèng
- Literal Translation: sit, cold, wooden, bench
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4