📖 Meaning
Doing summer things when autumn has already arrived — acting out of season. It describes behavior that is anachronistic, inappropriate for the current time, or stubbornly out of step with changed circumstances.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 8 of Lu Xun's satirical novella "The True Story of Ah Q" (《阿Q正传》), published in the early 1920s during China's Republican era. The story is set in late autumn in the fictional village of Weizhuang, yet certain men still wear their hair queues (braids) in a style associated with summer, clinging to a fashion that is seasonally and symbolically outdated. Lu Xun uses the phrase to mock the absurdity of holding onto old customs — specifically the queue hairstyle mandated by the fallen Qing dynasty — even as times have changed. The idiom thus carries a sharp satirical edge, criticizing those who refuse to adapt to new realities.
💡 Example Usage
都已经深秋了你还开着空调制冷，这不是秋行夏令吗？
It's already late autumn and you're still running the air conditioner on cooling mode — isn't that just doing summer things in autumn?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 秋行夏令
- Pinyin: qiū xíng xià líng
- Literal Translation: autumn, carry out, summer, seasonal order
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4