📖 Meaning
When the stone base of a pillar becomes damp, rain is imminent. It is a metaphor for recognizing the direction of future events from small early signs, demonstrating keen foresight and observation.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to the Western Han text 《淮南子·说林训》, which notes that 'when clouds gather over the mountains, the pillar bases become damp.' It was popularized by the Northern Song scholar Su Xun (苏洵), father of the renowned poets Su Shi and Su Zhe, in his essay 《辨奸论》. There he wrote '月晕而风，础润而雨，人人知之'—when a lunar halo appears, wind follows; when a pillar base grows damp, rain comes—arguing that obvious signs warn us of coming dangers and that we should heed them.
💡 Example Usage
他阅历深厚，础润而雨，早早就预见了行业风向的转变。
With deep experience, he saw the early signs and anticipated the shift in the industry's direction long before others.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 础润而雨
- Pinyin: chǔ rùn ér yǔ
- Literal Translation: pillar base, damp, then, rain
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4