白发郎官 | old official without promotion

bái白fà发láng郎guān官

An official who has grown old without promotion; a veteran official who has not been promoted despite long service.

老王在公司勤勤恳恳工作了几十年，如今已是白发郎官，却依然奋斗在基层岗位。

Old Wang has worked diligently in the company for decades; now a white-haired langguan, he still toils in grassroots positions.

Era:

Ancient

Frequency:

Synonym:

白首为郎

Story:

During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han was inspecting the Lang Bureau and saw Yan Si, a langguan (an ancient official title) with graying temples.

He asked Yan Si when he had become a langguan. Yan Si replied that he had been a langguan since the reign of Emperor Wen.

Emperor Wu then asked him why he had grown old without encountering opportunities or being promoted.

Yan Si responded, "Emperor Wen preferred literary scholars, but I favored martial arts. Emperor Jing preferred older officials, but I was still young. Your Majesty prefers younger officials, but I am already old. That is why I remain a langguan to this day."

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