"Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" originates from the Records of the Three Kingdoms: Book of Shu: Biography of Zhuge Liang. It tells the story of Liu Bei personally visiting Zhuge Liang three times at Longzhong, sincerely inviting him to leave his reclusion and assist him. The core meaning of this idiom is to sincerely invite or visit a person of talent, and it is typically used to describe an eager desire for worthy individuals and a respectful attitude toward talent. Its deeper implication lies in the fact that it emphasizes not only repeated invitations, but also heartfelt sincerity and patience. It is often used in workplace, social, or political contexts, such as when a company visits a high-end talent repeatedly to recruit them, or when someone repeatedly pleads with an expert to secure their help. In terms of cultural background, it reflects the traditional Chinese virtue of "respecting the worthy and humbling oneself before the talented," as well as the belief that "absolute sincerity will move even metal and stone." Its emotional tone is positive, carrying a sense of respect, perseverance, and humility. It should be noted that this idiom usually refers to the inviter's proactive and repeated actions, rather than the attitude of the person being invited.
📝 Example
1. To recruit that senior engineer, the company's general manager made repeated sincere visits, and finally won the other party over.
2. In order to invite the old professor to come out of retirement and guide the project, he did not hesitate to make repeated sincere visits, showing great sincerity.