相门洒扫 — “Sweeping at the prime minister's gate”
相门洒扫 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to gain favor or access to a powerful person by humble service or ingratiating oneself; to achieve one's goal through clever, often deferential, means”. Literally, “Sweeping at the prime minister's gate”.
相门洒扫 Pronunciation and Pinyin
相门洒扫 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 相门洒扫
Origin and Story of 相门洒扫
During the Western Han Dynasty, a young man named Wei Bo wished to meet Cao Can, the Prime Minister of Qi. As he came from a poor family, he had no money to bribe Cao Can's gatekeepers, so he had to find his own way.
He frequently woke up early and went to the entrance of Cao Can's residence to sprinkle water and sweep the ground.
The people working at Cao's mansion mistook Wei Bo for a humble servant of the estate and allowed him to enter. Eventually, he managed to meet Cao Can and achieved his objective.
Idioms Related to 相门洒扫
More idioms starting with 相
- xiāng相yǔ与yī一kǒu口collude and speak with one accord
- xiāng相yǔ与wéi为yī一merge into one
- xiāng相yǔ与wèi为mìng命depend on each other for survival
- xiāng相wèi为biǎo表lǐ里interdependent as exterior and interior
- xiāng相xí习chéng成sú俗mutual practice forms custom
- xiāng相xí习chéng成fēng风habits form a custom
- xiāng相hù互zūn尊zhòng重show mutual respect
- xiāng相jiāo交yǒu有nián年long-standing friendship
- xiāng相qīn亲xiāng相ài爱love and cherish each other deeply
- xiāng相qīn亲xiāng相jìn近mutually affectionate and intimate
- xiāng相fǎng仿xiāng相xiào效imitate and emulate each other
- xiàng相tǐ体cái裁yī衣tailor to fit the situation
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Open the tool →Questions about 相门洒扫
What does 相门洒扫 mean?
相门洒扫 (xiāng mén sǎ sǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to gain favor or access to a powerful person by humble service or ingratiating oneself; to achieve one's goal through clever, often deferential, means”.
How do you pronounce 相门洒扫?
相门洒扫 is pronounced xiāng mén sǎ sǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 相门洒扫 literally mean?
Literally, 相门洒扫 means “Sweeping at the prime minister's gate”. It is used to mean “to gain favor or access to a powerful person by humble service or ingratiating oneself; to achieve one's goal through clever, often deferential, means”.
Where does 相门洒扫 come from?
相门洒扫 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 相门洒扫?
相：宰相、丞相、相国。在宰相门前扫地。形容干求有术