







殷浩书空 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to express profound astonishment or bewilderment, often at unexpected or strange events; to refer to something remarkably odd or surprising”. Literally, “Yin Hao writing in the air”.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Yin Hao, the governor of Yangzhou, had a conflict with General Huan Wen. Wang Xizhi advised Yin Hao to prioritize national affairs in the face of a great enemy.
However, Yin Hao ignored the advice and led an expedition north, suffering repeated defeats. He was subsequently demoted to a commoner and exiled to Xin'an.
There, he spent his days seemingly carefree, reading and composing poetry. Yet, he constantly wrote the four characters "咄咄怪事" (duō duō guài shì, meaning "how astonishing!" or "what a bizarre thing!") characters on paper to express the indignation and bewilderment in his heart, which is the origin of the idiom.

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Open the tool →殷浩书空 (yīn hào shū kōng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to express profound astonishment or bewilderment, often at unexpected or strange events; to refer to something remarkably odd or surprising”.
殷浩书空 is pronounced yīn hào shū kōng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 殷浩书空 means “Yin Hao writing in the air”. It is used to mean “to express profound astonishment or bewilderment, often at unexpected or strange events; to refer to something remarkably odd or surprising”.
殷浩书空 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
借指事情令人惊奇诧异。