Walking with feet raised very high, full of vigor. Describe the proud and complacent look.
Idiom Pronunciation:
趾高气昂
zhǐ gāo qì ‘áng
Origin book:
《左传·桓公十三年》：楚屈瑕伐罗，斗伯比送之。还，谓其御曰：“莫敖必败，举趾高，心不固矣。”
Origin Story:
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Mo Ao Qu Xie, who was in charge of the military administration of the state of Chu, led his army to fight against the allied forces of the vassal states of Utopia, Sui and Polygon at Pusao, a city in the state of Utopia. As the other side had many allies and was so powerful, Qu Xie was very frightened. So he was ready to ask the king of Chu to send more troops. General Dou Lian opposed this. Dou Lian thought that although the enemy’s allies were many, their hearts and minds were not united and their fighting spirit was not strong, and if they defeated the Utopian state, the whole alliance would fall apart. He suggested concentrating his forces to quickly break Pusao. Qu Xie took Dou Lian’s advice and attacked Pusao and won a great victory. This is the famous “Battle of Pusao”. However, Qu Xie had no self-awareness and took all the credit of others on himself. So he became proud of himself and thought he was an invincible general, and from then on he did not take any enemy into account.
After two years, the king of Chu sent Qu Xie to lead his army to attack Luo again. On the day of his departure, Qu Xie was fully clothed, bidding farewell to the officials who were seeing him off, and then boarded a magnificent chariot and marched off in great style. When Dou Bo Bi, the maid of honor, returned, he whispered to the man driving him, “I think General Qu will be defeated this time! Look at the way he is walking, very proud and arrogant, with that high-minded look, can he still command the battle calmly and correctly?”
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt, so he ordered his royal hand to drive to the king’s palace and ask for an audience with the king of Chu. He advised the king of Chu to send troops to support him immediately, but the king of Chu did not take his advice. Later, the king of Chu unwittingly told his wife Deng Man about the incident. Deng Man, a very wise woman, thought that what Dou Bo Bi was worried about was not that his soldiers were outnumbered, but Qu Xiao’s pride. Therefore, troops should be sent to rescue him immediately, otherwise it might be too late. Hearing the lady’s words, the king of Chu then suddenly realized, and immediately ordered to send troops to support, but it was too late.
But it was too late. When Qu Xie arrived at the front, he became even more unbeatable and ordered the army to “punish those who dare to advise”, which was arbitrary and despotic. When the Chu army arrived at the capital of Luo, the other side had already prepared their troops for battle, but Qu Xie did not care. The troops were stationed anywhere and did not take any precautions. One day, the Luo army combined with Lu襦’s army to attack fiercely. The Chu army was immediately scattered, with heavy casualties. Qu Xie fled in disarray in a chariot. The high-minded look he had at the time of the expedition was long gone.
When he arrived at a place called Desolate Valley, he found himself alone and hanged himself.
Similar Idioms:
- 得意忘形
- 不可一世
- 目空一切
