📖 Meaning
This idiom means to have all correspondence completely cut off, with no letters or news arriving. The characters 羽 (feathers) and 鳞 (scales) refer to birds and fish, which in classical Chinese were metaphors for letter carriers, echoing the legend of geese carrying messages and fish delivering letters. It describes a prolonged silence between people who are separated.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Yuan dynasty play 'The Thorn Hairpin' (荆钗记) by Ke Danqiu (柯丹邱). In the scene titled 'Replying to Letters' (套书), a character who left home to take the imperial examination laments that half a spring has passed since his departure, and during that time all communication has been severed — no letters came or went. He attributes the sudden encounter with travelers to providence, seizing the chance to send word home. The phrase uses the imagery of birds (feathers) and fish (scales) — traditional symbols of messengers — being cut off to convey total loss of contact.
💡 Example Usage
自从他远赴他乡，便断羽绝鳞，再无音信传来。
Ever since he journeyed to a distant land, all correspondence ceased, and no further word ever came.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 断羽绝鳞
- Pinyin: duàn yǔ jué lín
- Literal Translation: broken feathers, severed scales
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4