遗簪绝缨 — “To enjoy unrestrained revelry and feasting”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 遗簪绝缨?

指男女杂坐，不拘形迹，欢饮无度。

遗簪绝缨 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to enjoy unrestrained revelry and feasting”. Often with mixed company, where people disregard formalities and social etiquette. Literally, “Lost hairpin, severed hat tassels”.

Frequency

遗簪绝缨 Pronunciation and Pinyin

遗簪绝缨 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
遗	yí	12	to leave behind or lose
簪	zān	18	hairpin or to wear a hairpin
绝	jué	9	cut off, absolute, unique
缨	yīng	14	tassel or fringe

Example Sentence with 遗簪绝缨

他们在那次盛大的宴会上遗簪绝缨，尽情享受，直到深夜才散去

They engaged in unrestrained revelry at that grand banquet, enjoying themselves to the fullest until late into the night before dispersing.

Origin and Story of 遗簪绝缨

During a grand banquet hosted by King Zhuang of Chu for his officials, everyone drank until late into the night, becoming quite intoxicated. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew out all the candles, plunging the hall into darkness. In the confusion, one of the officials, emboldened by the darkness and wine, behaved improperly by touching the Queen's clothing.

The Queen, quick-witted, immediately tore off the hat tassel of the offender and whispered to King Zhuang, urging him to identify and punish the person.

However, King Zhuang, wishing to maintain the joyous atmosphere and not embarrass anyone, declared, "Tonight, we are all guests enjoying ourselves. Let no one wear their hat tassels!" Hearing this, all the officials promptly removed and discarded their hat tassels, effectively making it impossible to identify the culprit. The banquet then resumed its festive and unrestrained mood, with everyone enjoying themselves without further incident until they dispersed.