📖 Meaning
A metaphor for extreme hardship and exhaustion. It derives from the observation that when a bream fish is exhausted, its normally white tail turns red. The idiom describes a person or people pushed to the limits of suffering and distress.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces back to the Classic of Poetry (诗经), specifically the poem 'Ru Fen' (汝坟) in the Zhou Nan (周南) section, which contains the line '鲂鱼赪尾' (the bream fish with a red tail). The Song dynasty scholar Zhu Xi (朱熹) explained in his collected commentary that '赪' means red, and that when a fish is exhausted, its tail turns red. Since a bream's tail is naturally white, a red tail signals extreme fatigue. The phrase '倦尾赤色' was later derived from this imagery to signify being worn down to the point of utter distress.
💡 Example Usage
连年灾荒，百姓倦尾赤色，难以维持生计。
After years of famine, the common people were exhausted to the breaking point and could barely sustain their livelihoods.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 倦尾赤色
- Pinyin: juàn wěi chì sè
- Literal Translation: tired, tail, red, color
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4