庙堂

廟堂

miàotáng

noun #76,776

Meanings

1 ancestral temple hall
2 the imperial court; high office

Characters

temple; ancestral temple

Examples

HSK 5

古代读书人身在江湖，心里却常常想着庙堂。

Gǔdài dúshūrén shēn zài jiānghú, xīnli què chángcháng xiǎng zhe miàotáng.

Scholars of old might live far from court, yet their hearts often turned back to it.

HSK 7-9

他一生不愿进入庙堂，宁可在乡下教书。

Tā yìshēng bú yuàn jìnrù miàotáng, nìngkě zài xiāngxia jiāoshū.

All his life he refused to serve at court, preferring to teach in the countryside.

Tips

culture

庙堂 was the hall of the imperial ancestral temple, where the emperor made sacrifices and held council, so it came to stand for the court and high office. Its opposite is 江湖 (rivers and lakes), life far from court, as in Fan Zhongyan's 居庙堂之高则忧其民，处江湖之远则忧其君.

Stroke Order

庙 miào

堂 táng