冥顽不灵 — “Obtuse and incorrigible”
冥顽不灵 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Obtuse and incorrigible”. Stubbornly ignorant and unresponsive to reason. Literally, “Stubbornly ignorant and unresponsive”.
冥顽不灵 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 冥míng
- 顽wán
- 不bù
- 灵líng
冥顽不灵 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 冥顽不灵
Origin and Story of 冥顽不灵
During the Tang Dynasty, the renowned literary figure Han Yu incurred the displeasure of Emperor Xianzong due to his 'Memorial on the Buddha Bone Relics' and was consequently demoted to the post of prefect in Chaozhou.
Upon assuming his new role, he learned that crocodiles in the local Evil River were causing harm to people and livestock. Han Yu then composed an 'Eulogy to the Crocodiles,' warning them to relocate to the South China Sea within seven days. He declared that if they continued to be stubbornly ignorant and unresponsive (冥顽不灵), they would face capture and eradication.
As fate would have it, a heavy rainstorm soon after drove the crocodiles away.
Idioms Related to 冥顽不灵
Synonyms of 冥顽不灵
Antonyms of 冥顽不灵
More idioms starting with 冥
- míng冥míng冥zhī之zhì志profound and steadfast resolve
- míng冥shì室dú椟guān棺utterly gloomy and confined space
- míng冥sī思kǔ苦xiǎng想to rack one's brains
- míng冥sī思kǔ苦suǒ索ponder deeply and exhaustively
- míng冥zhāo昭méng瞢àn暗primordial chaos of indistinguishable light and darkness
- míng冥zhāo昭méng瞢àn闇primordial chaos and darkness
- míng冥mò漠zhī之xiāng乡remote unseen realm or profound transcendent state
- míng冥mò漠zhī之dōu都netherworld or celestial abode
- míng冥rán然wù兀zuò坐sit quietly in absorbed stillness
- míng冥xíng行zhì擿zhí埴groping for knowledge blindly
- míng冥xíng行máng盲suǒ索act blindly, grope in the dark
- míng冥wán顽bú不huà化obstinately ignorant and impervious to reason
Questions about 冥顽不灵
- What does 冥顽不灵 mean?
- 冥顽不灵 (míng wán bù líng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Obtuse and incorrigible”.
- How do you pronounce 冥顽不灵?
- 冥顽不灵 is pronounced míng wán bù líng in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 冥顽不灵 literally mean?
- Literally, 冥顽不灵 means “Stubbornly ignorant and unresponsive”. It is used to mean “Obtuse and incorrigible”.
- Where does 冥顽不灵 come from?
- 冥顽不灵 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 冥顽不灵?
- 冥顽：愚钝无知；不灵：不聪明。形容愚昧无知。