📖 Meaning
The sun is nearing the western mountains, about to set. It metaphorically describes a person who is advanced in age and nearing death, or a thing that is declining and on the verge of collapse. The image conveys irreversible decay and the approach of an end.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Chen Qing Biao' (Petition Expressing My Feelings), a famous memorial written by Li Mi of the Jin Dynasty. When the emperor summoned him to office, Li Mi declined, explaining that his grandmother Liu was old and frail — like the sun setting behind the western mountains, her breathing feeble and her life hanging by a thread, uncertain whether she would survive from morning to night. He pleaded to remain by her side to care for her in her final days. The memorial moved the emperor, who granted his request, and the phrase became a lasting metaphor for approaching decline and death.
💡 Example Usage
这家老牌企业已日薄西山，再也无力与新兴公司竞争。
This established enterprise has already passed its peak and is in irreversible decline, no longer able to compete with emerging companies.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 日薄西山
- Pinyin: rì bó xī shān
- Literal Translation: sun, approach, west, mountain
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4