📖 Meaning
The recurrence of an old illness or ailment. By extension, it also refers to an old bad habit, vice, or problem that resurfaces after a period of seeming improvement or recovery. It implies that the root cause was never fully eliminated.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 32 of Luo Guanzhong's 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' (《三国演义》) during the Ming Dynasty. The warlord Yuan Shao (袁绍) had just suffered a major military defeat at the Battle of Guandu against Cao Cao. When he received the devastating news that his son Yuan Shang (袁尚) had also been routed in battle, the shock was too much for him. Yuan Shao's old illness suddenly relapsed, causing him to vomit several dou of blood and collapse unconscious, an event that marked the beginning of his final decline.
💡 Example Usage
他戒酒三年了，可最近工作压力一大，又旧病复发了。
He had been sober for three years, but recently under heavy work pressure, his old addiction relapsed.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 旧病复发
- Pinyin: jiù bìng fù fā
- Literal Translation: old, illness, again, break out
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4