📖 Meaning
The crane calls of Huating, used as an allusion to a lost, carefree past. The idiom expresses deep nostalgia and longing for one's former life, lamenting that such peaceful days can never be recovered. It often carries a note of regret over the price paid for ambition or worldly pursuits.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from Liu Yiqing's Shishuo Xinyu (A New Account of Tales of the World), compiled in the Liu Song period of the Southern Dynasties. It recounts the death of Lu Ji (261-303), a celebrated writer of the Western Jin dynasty. During the 'War of the Eight Princes' at the end of the Western Jin, Lu Ji served General Sima Ying but was defeated in battle and, slandered by jealous rivals, was sentenced to death. As he was led to execution he sighed: 'I long to hear the crane cries of Huating again — could that ever be possible?' Lu Ji had once led a carefree life at Huating (present-day Songjiang, Shanghai), and his lament became a timeless symbol of yearning for an irretrievably peaceful past.
💡 Example Usage
他晚年隐居山林，常忆华亭鹤唳，叹往昔岁月难再。
In his later years he retired to the mountains, often recalling the crane calls of Huating and lamenting that the good old days could never return.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 华亭鹤唳
- Pinyin: huà tíng hè lì
- Literal Translation: Huating, crane, cry
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4