飞鸿踏雪 — “The transient traces or vestiges left by past events or experiences”

飞鸿踏雪 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “the transient traces or vestiges left by past events or experiences”. Much like a wild goose's footprints briefly appearing on snow. Literally, “Flying wild goose treading on snow”.

Frequency

飞鸿踏雪 Pronunciation and Pinyin

飞鸿踏雪 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
飞	fēi	3	to fly rapidly
鸿	hóng	11	wild goose, vast, or letter
踏	tà	15	step on or visit
雪	xuě	11	snow

Example Sentence with 飞鸿踏雪

他们俩虽然多年未见，但当年的情谊如飞鸿踏雪，依然清晰可见。

Although they hadn't met for many years, the warmth of their friendship from back then was like a wild goose's footprints on snow, still clearly discernible.

Origin and Story of 飞鸿踏雪

During the Song Dynasty, the renowned brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe once stayed at a monastery in Mianchi, where they developed a good relationship with the resident old monk and even inscribed poems on the temple walls.

Years later, when Su Shi revisited the old site, he was moved to write the famous poem 'In Response to Ziyou's Poem on Mianchi and Old Times'.

In it, he expressed profound reflections on life's impermanence, with the lines: 'What is life like, wherever one goes? It should be like a flying wild goose treading on snow. Footprints are left on the mud by chance, but the goose flies away, how can one account for its direction?' This poem gave rise to the idiom '飞鸿踏雪', symbolizing the fleeting nature of life's experiences and the transient traces they leave behind.