左顾右盼

Origin and story

An earlier form, 左顧右眄, appears in Cao Zhi's letter to Wu Jizhong, preserved in volume 42 of the Wen Xuan (文選). Recalling a convivial gathering, Cao portrays his friend's expansive confidence: he looks about as though no one could rival him. This is a literary description of spirited self-assurance, rather than a founding historical episode.

Li Bai later uses the familiar wording 左顧右盼 in a poem celebrating a mounted nobleman's radiant appearance. Subsequent usage also describes simply looking from side to side, or hesitating because one is considering too many possibilities. The surrounding sentence determines whether the glances express confidence, curiosity, distraction, or uncertainty.