堕甑不顾 — “To not dwell on past misfortunes or irreversible mistakes”
堕甑不顾 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to not dwell on past misfortunes or irreversible mistakes”. To accept a lost cause and move on. Literally, “To let a pot fall and not look back”.
堕甑不顾 Pronunciation and Pinyin
堕甑不顾 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 堕甑不顾
Origin and Story of 堕甑不顾
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a scholar named Meng Min once stayed as a guest in Taiyuan. One day, while he was carrying an earthenware pot, he accidentally dropped it. To the surprise of onlookers, he simply continued walking without looking back at the broken pot.
Another scholar, Lin Zong, who witnessed this, approached him and asked why he didn't even bother to check the damage.
Meng Min calmly replied, "Since the pot is already broken, what good would it do to look at it now?"
This incident later became the idiom '堕甑不顾', symbolizing the wisdom of not dwelling on irreversible losses or mistakes.
Idioms Related to 堕甑不顾
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Open the tool →Questions about 堕甑不顾
What does 堕甑不顾 mean?
堕甑不顾 (duò zèng bù gù) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to not dwell on past misfortunes or irreversible mistakes”.
How do you pronounce 堕甑不顾?
堕甑不顾 is pronounced duò zèng bù gù in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 堕甑不顾 literally mean?
Literally, 堕甑不顾 means “to let a pot fall and not look back”. It is used to mean “to not dwell on past misfortunes or irreversible mistakes”.
Where does 堕甑不顾 come from?
堕甑不顾 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 堕甑不顾?
甑：古代一种瓦制炊器；顾：回头看。甑落地已破，不再看它。比喻既成事实，不再追悔。