飞鸿印雪 — “A metaphor for the transient traces or imprints left by past events”

The idiom "Fei Hong Yin Xue" (飞鸿印雪) originates from a poem by the famous Song Dynasty literati Su Shi.

During the Song Dynasty, Su Shi and his brother Su Zhe once stayed at a temple in Mianchi. They had a good relationship with the old monk there and inscribed poems on the temple walls.

Years later, Su Shi revisited the place and, feeling nostalgic, wrote the poem "Harmonizing with Ziyou's Mianchi Nostalgia."

In this poem, he famously mused: "What is life like, wherever one may roam? It should resemble flying wild geese stepping on snow-covered mud. Accidentally, their footprints are left on the mud, but where the geese fly afterwards, who can tell east from west?" This vivid imagery gave rise to the idiom, symbolizing the ephemeral traces left by past events or experiences, much like the fleeting imprints of geese on snow.