洛阳纸贵 Luòyáng zhǐ guì Luoyang paper is expensive

Explanation

比喻名著风行一时，广为流传，影响很大。

It means a famous book is popular and widely circulated, having a great influence.

Origin Story

西晋文学家左思，潜心十年创作了《三都赋》。成书后，他先请当时有名望的学者皇甫谧写序，又请当时有名望的官员张载、卫王、张华等为它作序。这本巨著一经问世，立即引起轰动。一时洛阳城中达官贵人竞相传抄，一时间洛阳的纸张供不应求，价格飞涨，这就是成语“洛阳纸贵”的由来。

xī jìn wénxuéjiā zuǒ sī, qiánxīn shí nián chuàngzuò le 《sān dū fù》。 chéngshū hòu, tā xiān qǐng dāngshí yǒu míngwàng de xué zhě huáng fǔ mì xiě xù, yòu qǐng dāngshí yǒu míngwàng de guān yuán zhāng zài, wèi wáng, zhāng huá děng wèi tā zuò xù. zhè běn jù zhù yī jīng wènshì, lìjí yǐn qǐ hōng dòng. yī shí luò yáng chéng zhōng dáguān guìrén jìng xiāng chuán chāo, yī shí luò yáng de zhǐ zhāng gōng bù yīng qiú, jiàgé fēi zhǎng, zhè jiùshì chéngyǔ “luò yáng zhǐ guì” de yóulái.

Zuo Si, a writer from the Western Jin Dynasty, devoted ten years to creating "Three Capitals Essay". After its completion, he first asked the renowned scholar Huangfu Mi to write a preface, and then asked influential officials such as Zhang Zai, the Duke of Wei, and Zhang Hua to write prefaces for it. As soon as this monumental work was published, it caused a sensation. For a time, high-ranking officials and nobles in Luoyang competed to copy it, leading to a shortage of paper and a sharp rise in prices, which is the origin of the idiom "洛阳纸贵".

Usage

形容作品价值很高，流传很广。

xiáoróng zuòpǐn jiàzhí hěn gāo, liúchuán hěn guǎng

Describes a work of high value that is widely circulated.

Examples

• 左思的《三都赋》问世后，洛阳城里争相传抄，一时洛阳纸贵。

  zuǒ sī de 《sān dū fù》 wèn shì hòu, luò yáng chéng lǐ zhēng xiāng chuán chāo, yī shí luò yáng zhǐ guì.

  After the publication of Zuo Si's "Three Capitals Essay", it was eagerly copied and spread in Luoyang, leading to a surge in paper prices.

• 他的新书一出版，便引起了轰动，洛阳纸贵。

  tā de xīn shū yī chū bǎn, biàn yǐn qǐ le hōng dòng, luò yáng zhǐ guì

  His new book caused an immediate sensation, with huge demand and a consequent rise in paper prices (洛阳纸贵).

Related Idioms

• 名扬天下

• 声名鹊起

Opposite Idioms

• 无人问津

• 默默无闻