📖 Meaning
When the autumn wind arrives, fans are cast aside and no longer used. This idiom is a metaphor for a woman losing her lord's favor once her beauty has faded, much like a fan discarded when the weather turns cold. It conveys the sorrow and helplessness of being abandoned after once being cherished.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Qing dynasty playwright Li Yu's work '意中缘·先订' (The Fated Romance: Prior Engagement), in which a character voices her fear that after marriage her husband might be tempted by other beauties and abandon her, leaving her with 'the sorrow of an autumn silk fan.' The imagery draws upon a classical motif dating back to the Han dynasty poetess Ban Jieyu, who compared herself to an autumn fan—treasured in summer but discarded once the cold winds come. Over centuries, this evocative image became a standard literary metaphor for a woman cast aside after losing favor.
💡 Example Usage
后宫佳丽三千，不少嫔妃皆有秋风纨扇之悲。
In a harem of three thousand beauties, many concubines suffered the sorrow of being cast aside like an autumn fan.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 秋风纨扇
- Pinyin: qiū fēng wán shàn
- Literal Translation: autumn, wind, silk, fan
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4