📖 Meaning
Tears and mucus flow freely across one's face. It describes someone weeping profusely in a state of extreme grief or sorrow. The image is of a person so overwhelmed by sadness that they lose all composure.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a commentary note in 'A New Account of the Tales of the World' (世说新语), compiled by Liu Yiqing of the Southern Dynasties. The annotator Liu Xiaobiao cited Wang Yin's 'Book of Jin' (晋书), which records that when the official Tao Kan was gravely ill, he wrote a letter while shaking his wrist, with tears and mucus streaming across his face. The scene conveys the deep sorrow and emotional anguish Tao Kan felt in his final days.
💡 Example Usage
听闻故友离世的消息，他悲痛万分，顿时涕泗横流。
Upon hearing the news of his old friend's passing, he was overcome with grief and tears streamed down his face.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 涕泗横流
- Pinyin: tì sì héng liú
- Literal Translation: tears, snot, flow, across
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4