"Xiang bei xiang wang" literally means that the napes and backs of people are visible to one another, describing an endless and continuous stream of pedestrians. It is often used to depict crowded scenes with long, unbroken lines of people. This idiom comes from the "Biography of Zuo Xiong" in the Book of the Later Han. The original text reads, "The supervising officials see one another's napes and backs, sharing the same ailments," originally referring to supervisory officials coming one after another, and later extended to describe dense crowds and frequent comings and goings. In terms of usage, it is mostly employed to describe scenes of heavy pedestrian traffic in key transportation routes, markets, gatherings, and other places, and can also metaphorically indicate that something appears in continuous succession. Its emotional tone is relatively neutral, sometimes carrying a slight sense of crowding and busyness, but it is not derogatory. Culturally, it reflects the ancient observation and expression of crowd movement, embodying the rhetorical wisdom of Chinese in using body parts to stand for the whole and visual imagery to convey dynamics. In modern Chinese, this idiom is not frequently used, but it has a strong literary flavor and is suitable for adding elegance in written language or formal occasions.
📝 Example
1. During the National Day holiday, tourists on the pedestrian street were packed shoulder to shoulder, creating a lively and bustling scene. (Describing a crowded situation where people are pressed close together, one after another.)
2. At the railway station during the Spring Festival travel rush, passengers were packed shoulder to shoulder, forming long queues as they slowly entered the station. (Describing a dense and continuous flow of people.)