









霜露之疾 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a minor illness”. Typically one caused by cold (like a common cold), often used euphemistically to refer to a slight ailment or a pretext for withdrawal or resignation, implying it's not a serious condition. Literally, “Illness of frost and dew”.
During the Western Han Dynasty, Chancellor Gongsun Hong came from a herdsman family. He only started studying at the age of 40 and was soon appointed Chancellor by Emperor Wu.
He handled matters diligently but offended some powerful officials. Additionally, due to his humble origins, he was often looked down upon. He claimed to be ill and wanted to resign.
Emperor Wu realized it was merely a 'frost and dew illness' (a minor ailment/pretext) and persuaded him to continue his service.

Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →霜露之疾 (shuāng lù zhī jí) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a minor illness”.
霜露之疾 is pronounced shuāng lù zhī jí in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 霜露之疾 means “Illness of frost and dew”. It is used to mean “a minor illness”.
霜露之疾 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
指因风寒而引起的疾病,指感冒