







街谈巷议 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Public discussions and popular talk among people in the streets and alleys, referring to widespread public opinion or common gossip”. Literally, “street talk and alley discussions”.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ruling class lived in extreme luxury, seizing fertile land and private homes while exploiting the common people.
The scholar Zhang Heng wrote 'Xijing Fu' to subtly criticize these rulers. In his work, he recounted an earlier incident from the Western Han Dynasty: Gongsun He, then a prime minister, had a son who embezzled military funds.
To shield his son from punishment, Gongsun He controversially arrested the fugitive Zhu Anshi and forced him to take the blame. This incident caused widespread public discussion and sharp criticism among the ordinary people in the streets and alleys.

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Open the tool →街谈巷议 (jiē tán xiàng yì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Public discussions and popular talk among people in the streets and alleys, referring to widespread public opinion or common gossip”.
街谈巷议 is pronounced jiē tán xiàng yì in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 街谈巷议 means “street talk and alley discussions”. It is used to mean “Public discussions and popular talk among people in the streets and alleys, referring to widespread public opinion or common gossip”.
街谈巷议 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
大街小巷里人们的议论。指民间的舆论。