📖 Meaning
The term uses '泉石' (springs and rocks) to stand for mountains and waters, while '膏肓' refers to the deepest, incurable part of the body where medicine cannot reach. It describes someone so addicted to the beauty of natural landscapes that the obsession is like an incurable disease. In essence, it means being hopelessly infatuated with mountains and streams.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the Biography of Tian Youyan in the New Book of Tang (新唐书·田游岩传), which records a Tang dynasty hermit named Tian Youyan. When the emperor asked why he refused official appointments, Tian replied: 'What I call my ailment of springs and rocks, my chronic disease of mist and rosy clouds' (臣所谓泉石膏肓，烟霞固疾者). He compared his passionate love of mountains, waters, and scenery to an incurable affliction fixed in the vital organs, thereby politely declining a court career. Later generations used this phrase to praise or describe someone with an unshakable passion for nature and seclusion.
💡 Example Usage
他泉石膏肓，宁可辞职也要隐居山林。
He is so hopelessly devoted to mountains and streams that he would rather quit his job than give up living in seclusion.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 泉石膏肓
- Pinyin: quán shí gāo huāng
- Literal Translation: spring, stone, the fat below the heart, the space above the diaphragm
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4