📖 Meaning
To fail to preserve one's moral integrity in one's later years. It describes a person who, after a lifetime of upright conduct, succumbs to temptation or corruption near the end. The idiom is also used metaphorically for any endeavor that falters or collapses just before completion.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces back to the Song dynasty poet and scholar Yang Wanli (杨万里, 1127–1206). In his prose-poem 'Ode to the Gentleman's Pavilion for Qingxuzi' (《清虚子此君轩赋》), he wrote the line '愿坚晚节于岁寒' — expressing the wish to remain steadfast in integrity even in the cold of winter, a metaphor for old age and adversity. The phrase encapsulated the Confucian ideal of maintaining virtue throughout one's entire life. Over time, the negative formulation '晚节不保' became a cautionary expression warning against the tragedy of moral collapse in one's final years.
💡 Example Usage
他一生清廉，没想到临退休却晚节不保，因贪污入狱。
He led an honest life, yet unexpectedly failed to preserve his integrity in his final years, ending up imprisoned for corruption.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 晚节不保
- Pinyin: wǎn jíe bù bǎo
- Literal Translation: late, integrity, not, preserve
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4