📖 Meaning
To suffer a single setback and never recover. It describes a person who, after one failure or blow, loses all spirit and cannot rally again. It is a variant of the more common idiom 一蹶不振.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Song dynasty scholar Ye Mengde's work 'Bishu Luhua' (避暑录话). The passage discusses Fang Cilv (房次律, i.e., the Tang dynasty chancellor Fang Guan), who served as prime minister during the turmoil of the An Lushan Rebellion. Although he committed no great wrong, he was unjustly dismissed from office. After this single fall from grace, he could never recover his standing and eventually died in obscurity, illustrating how one setback can permanently destroy a person's fortunes.
💡 Example Usage
他创业失败后一跌不振，从此再也没有振作起来。
After his business failed, he never recovered from the blow and was never able to rally again.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一跌不振
- Pinyin: yī diē bù zhèn
- Literal Translation: one, fall, not, recover
- Category: Recovery
- Characters: 4