奉为圭臬 fèng wéi guī niè to treat as a guiding principle

Explanation

奉为圭臬，意思是把某些言论或事物当成自己的准则，非常信奉。圭和臬是古代测量日影和射箭的工具，引申为标准或准则。

To treat something as one's guiding principle. "Gui" and "Nie" were ancient tools for measuring sunlight and archery, metaphorically referring to standards or guidelines.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有一个年轻的书生名叫李元，他从小就对儒家经典非常敬仰，并把《论语》奉为圭臬。他每天清晨都会诵读《论语》，并将里面的教诲应用到日常生活和为人处世中。有一天，李元在集市上遇到一位老学者，老学者见李元谈吐不凡，便向他请教一些经书上的问题，李元对答如流，引经据典，令老学者大为赞赏。老学者说："你如此精通儒家经典，将来必成大器。" 李元谦虚地表示，自己只是对经典有所理解，还需不断学习。从此，李元更加勤奋好学，刻苦钻研，最终成为了著名的儒家学者，他的事迹被后世传颂。

huà shuō táng cháo shíqī, yǒu yīgè niánqīng de shūshēng míng jiào lǐ yuán, tā cóng xiǎo jiù duì rújiā jīngdiǎn fēicháng jìngyǎng, bìng bǎ 《lúnyǔ》 fèng wéi guī niè. tā měitiān qīngchén dōu huì sòngdú 《lúnyǔ》, bìng jiāng lǐmiàn de jiàohuì yìngyòng dào rìcháng shēnghuó hé wéirén chǔshì zhōng. yǒu yī tiān, lǐ yuán zài jìshì shàng yùdào yī wèi lǎoxuézhě, lǎoxuézhě jiàn lǐ yuán tántǔ bùfán, biàn xiàng tā qǐngjiào yīxiē jīngshū shang de wèntí, lǐ yuán duìdá rúliú, yǐnjīng jùdiǎn, lìng lǎoxuézhě dà wéi zànshǎng. lǎoxuézhě shuō: ‘nǐ rúcǐ jīngtōng rújiā jīngdiǎn, jiānglái bì chéng dàqì.’ lǐ yuán qiānxū de biǎoshì, zìjǐ zhǐshì duì jīngdiǎn yǒusuǒ lǐjiě, hái xū bùduàn xuéxí. cóngcǐ, lǐ yuán gèngjiā qínfèn hào xué, kèkǔ zuānyán, zuìzhōng chéngwéi le zhùmíng de rújiā xuézhě, tā de shìjì bèi hòushì chuánsòng.

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a young scholar named Li Yuan, who from a young age greatly revered Confucian classics, and treated "The Analects" as his guiding principle. Every morning, he would read "The Analects" and apply its teachings to his daily life and interpersonal relationships. One day, Li Yuan met an old scholar in the market. Seeing Li Yuan's extraordinary eloquence, the old scholar asked him some questions about the scriptures, to which Li Yuan answered fluently, quoting classics and impressing the old scholar greatly. The old scholar said: "You have such a profound understanding of Confucian classics, you will surely achieve great things." Li Yuan humbly replied that he only had a certain degree of understanding of the classics and needed to continue learning. From then on, Li Yuan became even more diligent and studious, and ultimately became a famous Confucian scholar, his deeds passed down through generations.

Usage

通常用于形容对某种理论、思想或方法的盲目崇拜和绝对遵从。

tōngcháng yòng yú xíngróng duì mǒu zhǒng lǐlùn, sīxiǎng huò fāngfǎ de mángmù chóngbài hé juéduì zūncóng.

It is usually used to describe the blind worship and absolute adherence to a certain theory, idea or method.

Examples

• 他把老师的话奉为圭臬，一丝不苟地执行。

  tā bǎ lǎoshī de huà fèng wéi guī niè, yīsī bùgǒu de zhíxíng.

  He takes the teacher's words as a guiding principle and follows them meticulously.

• 有些人把某些成功人士的经验奉为圭臬，照搬照套，结果却适得其反。

  yǒuxiē rén bǎ mǒuxiē chénggōng rénshì de jīngyàn fèng wéi guī niè, zhàobān zhàotào, jiéguǒ què shìdéfǎn.

  Some people treat the experiences of certain successful people as an inviolable rule, blindly copying them, only to get the opposite result

Related Idioms

• 奉若神明

• 顶礼膜拜

Opposite Idioms

• 漠视

• 不屑一顾