Definition
清风 literally means 'cool breeze', but in Chinese culture it also carries a figurative meaning: the virtue of remaining incorruptible and content in poverty after retirement, especially for officials. You'll often see it in the chengyu 两袖清风 (liǎng xiù qīng fēng), which describes an official with nothing but clean sleeves — i.e., no ill-gotten gains. The word is positive and literary.
n.
cool breeze(figurative) integrity and incorruptibility in retirement (especially of officials)
Examples
- ，清风，。Xiàtiān de wǎnshang, yí zhèn qīng fēng chuī lái, ràng rén gǎnjué hěn shūfu.On summer nights, a cool breeze blows, making people feel very comfortable.
- ，。Zhè wèi lǎo guānyuán yìshēng qīnglián, tuìxiū hòu liǎngxiù qīng fēng.This old official was incorruptible all his life, and after retirement he had nothing but integrity.
- ，清风，。Tā suīrán tuìxiū le, dàn qīng fēng bù gǎi, yīrán guòzhe jiǎnpǔ de shēnghuó.Although he retired, his integrity remains unchanged; he still lives a simple life.
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