📖 Meaning
Beautiful circumstances and good times cannot endure forever. It is most often used to express a sigh of regret over the changing fortunes and impermanence of worldly affairs.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase draws on two classical sources. In the Tang dynasty, Wang Bo wrote in the preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng (滕王阁序): 'Fine places do not endure, and grand banquets are hard to repeat' (胜地不常，盛筵难再), lamenting that splendid gatherings and favored spots are fleeting. In the Song dynasty, the poet Chao Buzhi echoed the same sentiment in his lyric to the tune 'Liangzhou Ling' (梁州令叠韵): 'Beautiful scenes are hard to hold on to, and youth passing before the eyes flies like an arrow' (好景难常在，过眼韶华如箭). Over time these lines were condensed into the four-character idiom 好景不常.
💡 Example Usage
公司开业之初生意兴隆，可惜好景不常，半年后就关门了。
Business boomed when the company first opened, but the good times didn't last—it closed its doors within six months.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 好景不常
- Pinyin: hǎo jǐng bù cháng
- Literal Translation: good, scene, not, constant
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4