我辈岂是蓬蒿人

我輩豈是蓬蒿人

wǒbèiqǐshìpénghāorén

phrase

Meanings

1 how could we be mere weeds-and-brushwood people?
2 a defiant declaration that one is destined for more than obscurity

Characters

generation; kind

how could (rhetorical)

fleabane (weed)

Examples

他被拒绝后冷笑一声：我辈岂是蓬蒿人。

Tā bèi jùjué hòu lěng xiào yī shēng: wǒ bèi qǐ shì péng hāo rén.

After being rejected he laughed coldly: 'Are we just nobodies?'

这届毕业生都有种我辈岂是蓬蒿人的劲头。

Zhè jiè bìyè shēng dōu yǒu zhǒng wǒ bèi qǐ shì péng hāo rén de jìntóu.

This graduating class has that 'we are not meant for obscurity' spirit.

Tips

history

From 李白 Li Bai 《南陵别儿童入京》 (742 AD): 仰天大笑出门去，我辈岂是蓬蒿人 — 'I laughed to heaven and strode out the door: are we the kind to die among weeds?' Written when Emperor Xuanzong summoned him to the capital.

usage

Almost always paired with 仰天大笑出门去. 蓬蒿 (pénghāo) literally = fleabane and mugwort, i.e. common weeds, used figuratively for 'obscurity / commoner life.' 岂 = 'how could,' a classical rhetorical particle.

Stroke Order

我 wǒ

辈 bèi

岂 qǐ

是 shì

蓬 péng

蒿 hāo

人 rén