📖 Meaning
The bones of the dead lie exposed in the open wilderness. It depicts a tragic scene caused by war or calamity, where countless lives are lost and left unburied. The idiom conveys the devastation and suffering wrought by prolonged conflict.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem titled 'Hao Li Xing' by Cao Cao, the warlord and poet of the state of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. The poem describes the horrors of war during the late Eastern Han dynasty, when warlords fought for power and the common people suffered immensely. The famous line reads, 'White bones are exposed in the wilderness, and for a thousand li no rooster crows.' Cao Cao wrote it to lament the social devastation and mass starvation brought about by endless civil war.
💡 Example Usage
连年战乱使得白骨露野，百姓流离失所，惨不忍睹。
Years of continuous war left white bones exposed across the wilderness, with the people displaced and the suffering too dreadful to witness.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 白骨露野
- Pinyin: bái gǔ lù yě
- Literal Translation: white, bones, exposed, wilderness
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4