由窦尚书 — “Secretary/Minister from a wall hole”
由窦尚书 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to someone who lacks genuine talent and ability but relies on flattery, manipulation, or improper means to gain promotions or official positions”. Literally, “Secretary/Minister from a wall hole”.
由窦尚书 Pronunciation and Pinyin
由窦尚书 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 由窦尚书
Origin and Story of 由窦尚书
During the Song Dynasty, Xu Jizhi went to great lengths to ingratiate himself with Tuo Zhou, stopping at nothing.
Once, on Tuo Zhou's birthday, many officials came to offer their congratulations. Xu Jizhi arrived late, and the eunuchs had already closed the door, so he had no choice but to crawl through a hole in the wall to enter.
He served as a minister for two years without being promoted. He then complained to Tuo Zhou, who, feeling sympathetic, comforted him and later arranged for his promotion.
At the time, people mocked him, calling him 'the Minister from the Wall Hole' (由窦尚书).
Idioms Related to 由窦尚书
More idioms starting with 由
- yóu由zhōng中zhī之yán言words from the heart
- yóu由bó博fǎn返yuē约from extensive knowledge to profound simplicity
- yóu由xiǎo小jiàn见dà大infer the general from the particular
- yóu由lái来yǐ已jiǔ久has a long history
- yóu由cǐ此jí及bǐ彼extrapolate from one thing to another
- yóu由qiǎn浅rù入shēn深from simple to profound
- yóu由biǎo表jí及lǐ里from appearance to essence
- yóu由zhōng衷zhī之yán言sincere heartfelt words
- yóu由jìn近jí及yuǎn远from near to far
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Open the tool →Questions about 由窦尚书
What does 由窦尚书 mean?
由窦尚书 (yóu dòu shàng shū) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to someone who lacks genuine talent and ability but relies on flattery, manipulation, or improper means to gain promotions or official positions”.
How do you pronounce 由窦尚书?
由窦尚书 is pronounced yóu dòu shàng shū in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 由窦尚书 literally mean?
Literally, 由窦尚书 means “Secretary/Minister from a wall hole”. It is used to mean “refers to someone who lacks genuine talent and ability but relies on flattery, manipulation, or improper means to gain promotions or official positions”.
Where does 由窦尚书 come from?
由窦尚书 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 由窦尚书?
窦：墙洞。尚书从墙洞里钻进去。指没有真才实学靠钻营升官的人