bow and scrape

bow and scrape

Chinese idiom, Pinyin is p ā im ǎ Li ū x ū, which means flattery. From riding the wind and breaking the waves.

The origin of Idioms

Cao Ming's "riding the wind and breaking the waves" said: "the new society can't afford to be complacent."

Analysis of Idioms

[synonym]: flattery [antonym]: uprightness

Idiom usage

It is used as predicate, attribute and object. It's hard to get ahead without a pat on the back.

Idiom story

It is said that during the reign of emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, there was a prime minister named Ding Wei who climbed the stage by flattering. Once, having a meal with the old Prime Minister Kou Zhun, Ding Wei saw that Kou Zhun's beard was stained with some rice grains, so he personally went forward to comb Kou Zhun's beard and praised him greatly. Kou Zhun, an honest and upright old prime minister, knew that Ding Wei's mind was not right, so he laughed and said, "is there any prime minister with smooth beard in the world?"