江淹才尽 — “To have exhausted one's literary talent”
江淹才尽 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have exhausted one's literary talent”. To be at the end of one's creative resources; to have one's talent withered away. Literally, “Jiang Yan's talent exhausted”.
江淹才尽 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 江jiāng
- 淹yān
- 才cái
- 尽jìn
江淹才尽 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 江淹才尽
Origin and Story of 江淹才尽
During the Southern Dynasties' Liang period, the literatus Jiang Yan was known for his diligence in study and his agile mind in his youth. His literary works were deeply admired by many.
However, after he rose to the position of Guanglu Daifu (a high-ranking official), his writings significantly deteriorated, and his poems became remarkably uninspired.
The story goes that while he was visiting Xuancheng, he had a dream at Yiting where he met Guo Pu, a famous diviner and writer from an earlier era. In the dream, Guo Pu asked Jiang Yan to return a five-colored brush, which was believed to be the source of his literary genius.
From that day forward, Jiang Yan's literary inspiration vanished, and his talent completely ran dry.
Idioms Related to 江淹才尽
Synonyms of 江淹才尽
Antonyms of 江淹才尽
More idioms starting with 江
- jiāng江dōng东fù父lǎo老Elders or people of one's hometown
- jiāng江dōng东dú独bù步Unrivaled in the Jiangdong region
- jiāng江yún云wèi渭shù树deep feelings of parting and longing
- jiāng江nán南hǎi海běi北far and wide
- jiāng江tiān天yī一sè色river and sky merge into one color
- jiāng江shān山bù不lǎo老May your life be as eternal as mountains and rivers
- jiāng江shān山zhī之yì异drastic transformation of a landscape or territory
- jiāng江shān山zhī之hèn恨Sorrow over lost homeland
- jiāng江shān山bàn半bì壁a significant portion of a territory
- jiāng江shān山kě可gǎi改，，běn本xìng性nán难yí移Nature is hard to change
- jiāng江shān山hǎo好gǎi改，，běn本xìng性nán难yí移It's hard to change one's nature
- jiāng江shān山hǎo好gǎi改，，bǐng秉xìng性nán难yí移Old habits die hard
Questions about 江淹才尽
- What does 江淹才尽 mean?
- 江淹才尽 (jiāng yān cái jìn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have exhausted one's literary talent”.
- How do you pronounce 江淹才尽?
- 江淹才尽 is pronounced jiāng yān cái jìn in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 江淹才尽 literally mean?
- Literally, 江淹才尽 means “Jiang Yan's talent exhausted”. It is used to mean “to have exhausted one's literary talent”.
- Where does 江淹才尽 come from?
- 江淹才尽 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 江淹才尽?
- 南朝梁江淹，少有文名，世称江郎。晚年诗文无佳句，时人谓之才尽。后来常用于比喻才思衰退。