CHENGYU
洛阳纸贵(luò yáng zhǐ guì)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary, approving
- Source:
- 《晋书·左思传》
MEANING
- Literal
- paper is dear in Luoyang
- Figurative meaning
- a book or work becomes wildly popular
ORIGIN STORY
When Zuo Si finished his long "Rhapsody on the Three Capitals", the great families of Luoyang competed to copy it by hand — so much paper was used that its price soared in the capital.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to sell like hot cakes”
EXAMPLES
他的新书一出版就洛阳纸贵，很快卖光了。Tā de xīn shū yī chūbǎn jiù luò yáng zhǐ guì, hěn kuài mài guāng le.HSK6
His new book made paper dear in Luoyang the day it appeared and sold out fast.
这本小说当年洛阳纸贵，人人都在读。Zhè běn xiǎoshuō dāngnián luò yáng zhǐ guì, rénrén dōu zài dú.HSK6
That novel once made paper scarce in Luoyang — everyone was reading it.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It is about a work's popularity, not about real paper prices.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01