📖 Meaning
To grieve as though one had lost one's own parents. It describes extreme sorrow and anguish, comparing the depth of mourning to the loss of one's father and mother. Used for profound, almost unbearable grief.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the 'Book of Documents' (尚书), specifically the 'Canon of Shun' (舜典) chapter, a foundational Confucian classic from ancient China. The text records that after twenty-eight years of Emperor Yao's reign, the virtuous emperor passed away, and the common people mourned as intensely as if they had lost their own father and mother. The passage illustrates the deep love and reverence the people held for their benevolent ruler, whose death brought universal sorrow.
💡 Example Usage
听到噩耗，他如丧考妣，悲痛得说不出话来。
Upon hearing the tragic news, he grieved as if he had lost his own parents, too heartbroken to utter a word.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 如丧考妣
- Pinyin: rú sàng kǎo bǐ
- Literal Translation: like, mourn, deceased father, deceased mother
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4