📖 Meaning
Grand and magnificent buildings are reduced to earthen mounds and rubble. It metaphorically describes the swift alternation of rise and fall, where prosperity and glory are quickly lost to ruin and decay.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by Cao Zhi (曹植), a prince and poet of the Cao Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period. In his 'Song of the Konghou' (箜篌引), Cao Zhi wrote that those born in splendid mansions ultimately fall and return to the hills as dust. The lines lament the impermanence of worldly glory and the inevitability of decline. Over time, the phrase came to symbolize how rapidly prosperity can turn to ruin.
💡 Example Usage
昔日繁华的宫殿如今已成华屋丘墟，令人唏嘘不已。
The once-prosperous palace has now been reduced to ruins, leaving one to sigh with sorrow.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 华屋丘墟
- Pinyin: huá wū qiū xū
- Literal Translation: splendid, mansion, hill, ruins
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4