







楚囚对泣 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to weep together in despair when facing a difficult situation with no apparent solution; to be in a predicament with no remedy, sharing a sense of helplessness and sorrow”. Literally, “Chu captives weeping facing each other”.
In 316 AD, Liu Yao led his army to conquer the Western Jin Dynasty. Later, Sima Rui, with the strong support of Wang Dao, established the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Jiankang.
On a clear day, some nobles and high officials went to Xinting, located outside Jiankang city, to drink wine. Zhou Kai, the Marquis of Wucheng, expressed his deep sorrow and despair, which caused everyone present to start weeping.
Seeing this, Prime Minister Wang Dao admonished them, stating that they should be focused on recovering their lost lands and not merely weeping together like the Chu captives.

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Open the tool →楚囚对泣 (chǔ qiú duì qì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to weep together in despair when facing a difficult situation with no apparent solution; to be in a predicament with no remedy, sharing a sense of helplessness and sorrow”.
楚囚对泣 is pronounced chǔ qiú duì qì in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 楚囚对泣 means “Chu captives weeping facing each other”. It is used to mean “to weep together in despair when facing a difficult situation with no apparent solution; to be in a predicament with no remedy, sharing a sense of helplessness and sorrow”.
楚囚对泣 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
楚囚:原指被俘到晋国的楚国人,后泛指处于困境,无计可施的人。比喻在情况困难、无法可想时相对发愁。