一意孤行 — “To act with one's sole intention; to go one's own way”

The idiom 'Yi Yi Gu Xing' (一意孤行) originates from the 'Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Cruel Officials' (《史记。酷吏列传》) during the Western Han Dynasty. There was a man named Zhao Yu, who served as a subordinate official to Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu. By chance, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, read an article written by Zhao Yu. Impressed by its sharp prose and profound meaning, the emperor believed few at the time could match him. Emperor Wu greatly appreciated Zhao Yu, appointing him as an imperial censor and later promoting him to Grand Master of Remonstrance. He was then tasked with formulating national laws alongside another Grand Master of Remonstrance, Zhang Tang. Their goal was to restrain officials with strict legal provisions, so they revised and supplemented existing laws according to Emperor Wu's directives.

Many officials at the time hoped Zhao Yu would be lenient and revise the laws to allow for some flexibility. They frequently invited him and Zhang Tang to banquets, but Zhao Yu never accepted or reciprocated these invitations. After several such instances, many people considered him arrogant and condescending.

Some time later, after thorough deliberation and research, Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang decided to formulate stringent laws, such as those punishing officials who failed to report known crimes or those imposing collective responsibility for officials' misdeeds, to prevent incumbent officials from acting recklessly. As soon as this news spread, officials urged high-ranking ministers to persuade Zhao Yu not to make the laws too harsh. These ministers brought lavish gifts to Zhao Yu's house. However, upon meeting them, Zhao Yu merely engaged in casual conversation about various topics, completely ignoring their hints to modify the laws. After a while, seeing that they couldn't get anywhere, the ministers stood up to leave. To their surprise, before they departed, Zhao Yu firmly returned all the lavish gifts they had brought.

This incident made people truly realize that Zhao Yu was an extremely incorruptible and upright man. Someone asked Zhao Yu, 'Don't you consider what people around you might think of you for this?' He replied, 'By cutting off the requests of friends or guests in this way, I aim to be able to independently decide and handle matters, to act according to my own will, without interference from others.' This phrase 'acting according to one's own will' became the basis for the idiom, which later evolved to primarily describe someone who stubbornly goes their own way, often despite good advice or opposition, usually implying negative consequences or a lack of wisdom.