📖 Meaning
Describes dramatic and violent changes in circumstances. The imagery evokes the earth growing old and the sky turning dark, conveying a sense of profound upheaval and transformation.
📜 Origin Story
From the Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu's 'The Peony Pavilion' (牡丹亭), specifically the scene 'Thinking of My Daughter' (忆女). In this passage, a grieving mother laments the overwhelming changes in her world, having nowhere to settle herself and reflecting on her total lack of kin to rely on. The phrase uses the imagery of earth aging and sky darkening to express the magnitude of the upheaval she experiences.
💡 Example Usage
政局骤变，地老天昏，百姓流离失所。
The political situation shifted dramatically, the world was turned upside down, and the people were displaced from their homes.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 地老天昏
- Pinyin: dì lǎo tiān hūn
- Literal Translation: earth, old, sky, dark
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4