📖 Meaning
Literally, the boxwood tree suffers in a leap year. According to old folklore, boxwood is slow-growing, and during a leap year it not only fails to grow but actually shrinks. The idiom metaphorically describes someone facing exceptionally difficult circumstances or a run of bad luck.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by Su Shi (苏轼) of the Northern Song Dynasty, titled 'Four Poems on the Residence of Langzhong Yu Kangzhi at the Dongxiao Palace'. One line reads: 'In the garden, grasses and trees flourish in countless springs, yet only the boxwood suffers in the leap year.' The folk belief held that the boxwood tree, already notoriously slow-growing, would actually shrink during an intercalary leap year rather than put on new growth. Su Shi used this botanical superstition as a poignant metaphor for a person enduring persistent hardship while all around them thrive.
💡 Example Usage
他这些年屡遭挫折，真是黄杨厄闰，时运不济。
He has suffered one setback after another these years; truly like the boxwood in a leap year, plagued by ill fortune.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 黄杨厄闰
- Pinyin: huáng yáng è rùn
- Literal Translation: boxwood, hardship, leap year
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4