📖 Meaning
Describes possessing a book collection so vast and impressive that it is likened to owning an entire city of books. It is used to praise someone's abundant, extensive library, implying they command a wealth of knowledge as if seated at the center of a great literary fortress.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from Sun Baigang's biography of the modern Chinese writer Yu Dafu, titled "Yu Dafu's Unofficial Biography: Stormy Thatched Cottage" (风雨茅庐). The author notes that everyone always knew Dafu owned many books, but since he had previously lived in cramped lane houses without a proper study, the full extent of his collection had never been seen. Once his books were displayed in his new study, the sight was truly magnificent, prompting the remark that Dafu was 'seated in a city of books.' The phrase thus grew to describe someone whose library is as vast and imposing as a walled city.
💡 Example Usage
他的书房藏书上万册，真可谓坐拥书城了。
With tens of thousands of books in his study, he can truly be said to sit in a city of books.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 坐拥书城
- Pinyin: zuò yōng shū chéng
- Literal Translation: sit, possess, books, city
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4