📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a state of both physical decline and spiritual exhaustion. It portrays a person whose body has grown weak and withered while their will and motivation have been reduced to ashes, conveying complete physical and mental deterioration.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a letter by the Ming dynasty scholar Tang Shunzhi (唐顺之) titled 'Reply to Magistrate Mao Lumen' (答茅鹿门知县). In the letter, Tang Shunzhi tells Mao Lumen that what Mao observes of him is merely his former self, and asks whether Mao has ever truly seen the withered and dispirited version of him. The imagery of a dried-up body and a heart turned to ashes vividly conveys profound spiritual depletion and the collapse of one's will.
💡 Example Usage
他大病一场后槁形灰心，再无当年的雄心壮志。
After a serious illness, he became physically withered and spiritually defeated, no longer possessing the ambition of his earlier years.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 槁形灰心
- Pinyin: gǎo xíng huī xīn
- Literal Translation: withered form, ashen heart
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4