📖 Meaning
To visit or reflect upon historical sites and events and feel melancholy about the present situation. It conveys sorrow over the contrast between the glory of the past and the decline or troubles of the present day.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the 'Rhapsody on Regret' (悔赋) written by Emperor Jianwen of the Liang dynasty (Xiao Gang, 503-551) during the Southern Dynasties period. In this fu-style rhapsody he reviews the events of former dynasties, using the line '铺究前史，吊古伤今' - studying past history, mourning the past while grieving over the present. The work reflects the emperor's poignant reflections on history and his own turbulent era.
💡 Example Usage
重游故宫，我不禁吊古伤今，感叹时光流逝。
Revisiting the Forbidden City, I could not help mourning the past and grieving for the present, sighing over the passage of time.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 吊古伤今
- Pinyin: diào gǔ shāng jīn
- Literal Translation: mourn ancient, grieve present
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4