挂冠而去 — “To resign from an official post”

挂冠而去 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to resign from an official post”. To quit one's public office. Literally, “Hang up one's official hat and leave”.

Frequency

挂冠而去 Pronunciation and Pinyin

挂冠而去 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
挂	guà	9	to hang, suspend, or worry
冠	guān	9	hat; crown; first place
而	ér	6	and, but, then
去	qù	5	to go, leave, or remove

Example Sentence with 挂冠而去

他觉得公司的管理方式与自己的理念不符，便毅然挂冠而去，寻找新的发展机会。

Feeling that the company's management style didn't align with his principles, he resolutely resigned from his post to seek new development opportunities.

Origin and Story of 挂冠而去

During the late Western Han Dynasty, Wang Yu, son of Wang Mang, worried that his father had made too many enemies. He offered a 'blood remonstrance' (a desperate warning) but was killed by Wang Mang, who prioritized his own regime over familial ties.

Feng Meng, seeing through Wang Mang's intentions, concluded that such a ruler was unworthy of loyalty. Thus, he took off his official's cap, hung it on the eastern gate of the capital, quietly left the city, and fled with his family to Liaodong.

Soon after, Wang Mang committed suicide, and the Xin Dynasty collapsed.