Progressing from characters to words and idioms marks advanced Chinese. This guide freely explains 「白衣公卿」 for your learning.
Let’s dive into the idiom 「白衣公卿」. Its definition and application are outlined below.
In ancient times, it referred to Jinshi. People in the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to Jinshi (Jinshi in English), and most of the prime ministers were Jinshi. Therefore, Jinshi were recommended as “plain-robed ministers”, which means that although they were plain-robed men, they enjoyed the qualifications and prestige of ministers.
The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :
bái yī gōng qīng
while its Cantonese pinyin is :
baak6 yi1 gung1 hing1
Chinese idioms are vast in number, each carrying unique meanings and usages. With such variety, there’s a lot to learn and appreciate. Hopefully, these resources will aid you on your journey to mastering Chinese.
