📖 Meaning
Describes the haggard appearance of extreme old age, where the neck has grown shriveled and the teeth have fallen out. It conveys being elderly, worn, and decrepit from a life of hardship or prolonged striving.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in a preface by Qing dynasty diplomat and scholar Xue Fucheng, written on behalf of Li Hongzhang (Li Boxiang) for a reprinted edition of the Wobin Legacy Texts. Xue laments the crushing weight of the imperial examination system, noting that brilliant and ambitious men would waste away into old age—necks withered and teeth lost—still clinging to the hope of one day succeeding in the exams. The image underscores how the system consumed a scholar's entire life without guaranteeing reward.
💡 Example Usage
多少读书人槁项没齿，仍未考取半点功名。
Countless scholars wasted away into old age, necks shriveled and teeth lost, yet never earned even the slightest degree.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 槁项没齿
- Pinyin: gǎo xiàng méi chǐ
- Literal Translation: withered neck, lost teeth
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4