奔走相告 — “To run around spreading the news”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 奔走相告?

指有重大的消息时，人们奔跑着相互转告。

奔走相告 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to run around spreading the news”. To eagerly inform one another of an important piece of news. Literally, “run and tell each other”.

Frequency

奔走相告 Pronunciation and Pinyin

奔走相告 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
奔	bēn	8	run quickly or rush
走	zǒu	7	walk, go, leave, move
相	xiāng	9	mutual or appearance
告	gào	7	tell, inform, or announce

Example Sentence with 奔走相告

好消息传来，大家奔走相告，庆祝成功的合作。

When the good news arrived, everyone ran around spreading it, celebrating the successful collaboration.

Origin and Story of 奔走相告

During the Spring and Autumn Period, eleven states, including Jin and Chu, dispatched high-ranking officials to hold a covenant in the state of Guo.

Xiong Qian, the envoy of Chu, arrived with a remarkably grand ceremonial retinue, far exceeding the standards for official tours at that time.

It was customary that only the Son of Heaven would have a hundred 'huben' (tiger warriors) during his tour, while the lowest-ranking scholar-official on an inspection tour would only have one 'peicheng' (attendant), whose designated task was 'gao benzou' (to inform and run errands).

The ostentatious display by the Chu envoy caused displeasure among the envoys from other states.