📖 Meaning
Literally meaning 'wind and clouds are unpredictable,' this idiom describes a volatile and uncertain situation that can change without warning. It is often used to characterize turbulent political or social circumstances beyond human control.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in 'Slapping the Table in Amazement' (初刻拍案惊奇), a famous Ming dynasty short story collection by Ling Mengchu (凌濛初). In the ninth chapter, a wealthy official named the Tongqian faces unexpected disaster when censors accuse him of corruption, leading to his imprisonment. The narrator laments that good fortune is easily thwarted and circumstances shift as unpredictably as wind and clouds, underscoring the theme of life's capricious turns during the late Ming period.
💡 Example Usage
战乱年代风云不测，百姓流离失所，苦不堪言。
In times of war, circumstances are as unpredictable as shifting winds and clouds, and the common people are driven from their homes in boundless suffering.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 风云不测
- Pinyin: fēng yún bù cè
- Literal Translation: wind, clouds, not, predictable
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4