人鼠之叹 — “A lament or sigh over the vast disparity in social status”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 人鼠之叹?

感叹人与人之间的地位悬殊

人鼠之叹 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a lament or sigh over the vast disparity in social status”. Opportunities, and fates among people, often implying that environment and circumstances significantly shape one's destiny. Literally, “Lament of Man and Rat”.

Frequency

人鼠之叹 Pronunciation and Pinyin

人鼠之叹 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
人	rén	2	human being, person
鼠	shǔ	13	mouse or rat
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle
叹	tàn	5	sigh or exclaim

Example Sentence with 人鼠之叹

看到昔日同窗如今一人身居高位，一人却生活窘迫，他不禁发出了人鼠之叹。

Seeing that one of his former classmates now holds a high position while another lives in poverty, he couldn't help but sigh, contemplating the vast differences in their fates.

Origin and Story of 人鼠之叹

During the Qin Dynasty, when Li Si was still a young man, he observed rats in a public latrine fighting fiercely over scraps and scurrying away in terror at the sight of people.

Later, when he visited an official granary, he saw other rats leisurely nibbling on grain, completely unconcerned by human presence.

Li Si was deeply moved by this scene and exclaimed, 'It's astonishing that even among rats, there can be such a huge difference! Their environment shapes their behavior and destiny. Just like people, those who rise to favorable positions become wise and noble, while those who remain in lower strata are often seen as ignorant commoners or petty individuals.'

This observation led him to believe that a person's future is largely determined by their environment and opportunities.