Zhuge Liang, styled Kongming, was a descendant of Zhuge Feng, a Han Dynasty imperial censor. His father died early, so he lived with his uncle, who once served as acting governor of Yuzhang. After his uncle passed away, Zhuge Liang built a thatched cottage in Longzhong, twenty li from Xiangyang City, and settled there.
During his time in Longzhong, Zhuge Liang often tilled the fields himself to support his family. Beyond farming, he loved reading and discussing statecraft and the principles of governing the world with Xu Yuanzhi and Cui Zhouping, who had traveled to Nanyang to study. In his leisure, he would loudly recite the ancient ballad "Liangfu Yin." Living as a commoner, he later wrote in his famous memorial to the young emperor Liu Shan, "I was once a humble man, farming in Nanyang, merely surviving in a chaotic age with no desire for fame among the lords."
Later, the idiom "Not Seeking Fame" came to describe those who do not wish to be officials or become famous.
Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, "Biography of Zhuge Liang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "不求闻达" came to describe those who do not wish to be officials or become famous.