it is hard to wait till the huanghe river is clear(hé qīng nán sì)

it is hard to wait till the huanghe river is clear

The Chinese idiom, Pinyin is h é Q ī NGN á ns ì, which means it is difficult to wait until the Yellow River is clear; the metaphor is too long to wait. From Zuo Zhuan, the eighth year of Xianggong.

Notes on Idioms

Wait: wait.

The origin of Idioms

"Eight years of Xianggong" in Zuozhuan: "when the river is clear, how long will life be?"

Idiom usage

It is difficult to wait for a long time. I hope to be sincere. I don't know if I can achieve my wish. The scenery forces Sangyu, and the river is clear. One of the twelve books of rites to the village of Tao by Zhu Zhiyu of Ming Dynasty

Idiom story

In the spring and Autumn period, Zi Guo and Zi Er, the princes of Zheng State, sent troops to attack Cai state and won the battle. Zichan, the son of Ziguo, was deeply worried that Chu would attack Zheng. The prince of Chu Zhuang sent his son Zhen to attack the state of Zheng. Zi Si, who was in power in the state of Zheng, quoted Zhou's poem "when the river is clear, what will life be like?"? Zhaozhi inquired about many things, and Zhijing was ready to surrender to the state of Chu.

Chinese PinYin : hé qīng nán sì