好好先生 hǎo hǎo xiān shēng Nice Guy

Explanation

指与人和气，没有主见，凡事都顺着别人的人。

Refers to a person who is always kind and accommodating, but at the same time has few independent opinions and adapts to others.

Origin Story

东汉末年，群雄逐鹿，天下大乱。刘备在徐州失利后，辗转来到荆州，投奔刘表。刘备雄心勃勃，渴望招揽贤才，壮大实力，以图恢复汉室。他听说襄阳卧龙岗隐居着一位名士——司马徽，此人以识人无数，并且为人谦和，从不说人坏话而闻名，人称"好好先生"。刘备便前往拜访。司马徽果然名不虚传，待人接物温文尔雅，对刘备提出的问题，他总是含糊其辞，既不夸奖也不贬低，只是说些场面话，让人捉摸不透。刘备也不气馁，反复与司马徽交谈，最终打动了司马徽。司马徽见刘备诚心求贤，并且对汉室忠心耿耿，最终决定推荐诸葛亮和庞统辅佐刘备。诸葛亮和庞统后来都成为刘备的重要谋士，为刘备的创业和发展立下了汗马功劳。

dōnghàn mònián, qúnxióng zhúlù, tiānxià dàluàn. liúbèi zài xūzhōu shīlì hòu, zhǎn zhuǎn lái dào jīngzhōu, tóubèng liú biǎo. liúbèi xióngxīnbóbó, kěwàng zhāolǎn xiáncái, zhuàngdà shí lì, yǐ tú huīfù hàn shì. tā tīngshuō xiāngyáng wólónggǎng yǐnjūzhe yī wèi míngshì——sīmǎ huī, cǐrén yǐ shí rén wúshù, bìngqiě wéirén qiānhé, cóng bù shuō rén huàihua ér wénmíng, rén chēng "hǎohǎo xiānshēng". liúbèi biàn qiánwǎng bài fǎng. sīmǎ huī guǒrán míng bù xūchuán, dài rén jiēwù wēnwén'ěryǎ, duì liúbèi tíchū de wèntí, tā zǒngshì hánghu qí cí, jì bù kuājiǎng yě bù biǎndī, zhǐshì shuō xiē chǎngmiàn huà, ràng rén zhuōmō bù tòu. liúbèi yě bù qǐněi, fǎnfù yǔ sīmǎ huī jiāotán, zuìzhōng dǎdòng le sīmǎ huī. sīmǎ huī jiàn liúbèi chéngxīn qiú xián, bìngqiě duì hàn shì zhōngxīn gěnggěng, zuìzhōng juédìng tuījiàn zhūgě liàng hé páng tǒng fǔzuǒ liúbèi. zhūgě liàng hé páng tǒng hòulái dōu chéngwéi liúbèi de zhòngyào móushì, wèi liúbèi de chuàngyè hé fāzhǎn lìxià le hànmǎ gōngláo.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when various warlords were vying for supremacy and the country was in chaos, Liu Bei, after his defeat in Xuzhou, went to Jingzhou and sought refuge with Liu Biao. Liu Bei was ambitious and eager to recruit talented people to strengthen his forces and restore the Han Dynasty. He heard that Sima Hui, a famous scholar, lived in seclusion in Wolonggang, Xiangyang, and was known for his ability to identify people and his gentle manner, never speaking ill of others; he was known as "the nice gentleman". Liu Bei went to visit him. Sima Hui lived up to his reputation, treating visitors with politeness and grace. To Liu Bei's questions, he always answered vaguely, neither praising nor criticizing, but only saying polite words that were hard to interpret. Liu Bei did not give up and repeatedly talked with Sima Hui, finally winning over Sima Hui. Seeing Liu Bei's sincere desire to seek talent and his loyalty to the Han Dynasty, Sima Hui finally decided to recommend Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to assist Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong later became important advisors to Liu Bei, making great contributions to Liu Bei's establishment and development.

Usage

用于形容性格温和，容易相处，但缺乏主见，没有自己想法的人。

yòng yú xíngróng xìnggé wēnhé, róngyì xiāngchǔ, dàn quēfá zhǔjiàn, méiyǒu zìjǐ xiǎngfǎ de rén

Used to describe a person who is gentle, easy to get along with, but lacks independent thinking and their own ideas.

Examples

• 他为人处世过于圆滑，简直就是个好好先生。

  tā wéirén chǔshì guòyú yuánhuá, jiǎnzhí jiùshì gè hǎohǎo xiānshēng

  He is too smooth in dealing with people, he is a real yes-man.

• 他总是唯唯诺诺，像个好好先生一样，从不表达自己的意见。

  tā zǒngshì wéiwéinuónuò, xiàng gè hǎohǎo xiānshēng yīyàng, cóng bù biǎodá zìjǐ de yìjiàn

  He always says yes, like a yes-man, never expressing his own opinions.

Related Idioms

• 老好人

• 好好先生

Opposite Idioms

• 强硬派

• 刺头