一哄而散 yī hōng ér sàn To scatter in a flurry

Explanation

形容聚在一起的人一下子吵吵嚷嚷地走散了。

Describes a group of people suddenly dispersing in a noisy and chaotic manner.

Origin Story

古代，有一位县令，为了让老百姓安居乐业，决定在县城举办一场热闹非凡的庙会。消息传出，百姓们都兴奋不已，纷纷赶来，整个县城顿时人山人海，热闹非凡。然而，就在庙会进行得如火如荼的时候，突然，一阵风吹过，刮起了一阵沙尘暴，人们顿时慌乱起来，互相推搡着，争先恐后地往外逃，场面一片混乱，最后，人们都一哄而散，原本热闹非凡的庙会，瞬间就变得空无一人，只剩下满地的垃圾和一些零散的物品。

gǔ dài，yǒu yī wèi xiàn lìng，wèi le ràng lǎo bǎi xìng ān jū lè yè，jué dìng zài xiàn chéng jǔ bàn yī chǎng rè nào fēi fán de miào huì。xiāo xi chuán chū，bǎi xìng men dōu xīng fèn bù yǐ，fēn fēn gǎn lái，zhěng gè xiàn chéng dùn shí rén shān rén hǎi，rè nào fēi fán。rán ér，jiù zài miào huì jìn xíng de rú huǒ rú tú de shí hòu，tū rán，yī zhèn fēng chuī guò，guā qǐ le yī zhèn shā chén bào，rén men dùn shí huāng luàn qǐ lái，hù xiāng tuī sǎng zhe，zhēng xiān kǒng hòu de wǎng wài táo，miàn tián yī piàn hùn luàn，zuì hòu，rén men dōu yī hōng ér sàn，yuán běn rè nào fēi fán de miào huì，shùn jiān jiù biàn de kōng wú yī rén，zhǐ shèng xià mǎn dì de lā jī hé yī xiē líng sàn de wù pǐn。

In ancient times, a county magistrate decided to hold a lively temple fair in the county town to ensure the people lived in peace and prosperity. The news spread, and people were excited and flocked to the fair. The entire county town was crowded with people and bustling with activity. However, as the temple fair was in full swing, a gust of wind blew, kicking up a dust storm. The people panicked, jostled each other, and fled in all directions. The scene was chaotic, and finally, the people dispersed in a flurry, and the once lively temple fair instantly became deserted, leaving only a pile of trash and scattered items.

Usage

形容人聚在一起，突然发生什么事，便一下子散开了。

xíng róng rén jù zài yī qǐ，tū rán fā shēng shén me shì，biàn yī xià zi sàn kāi le。

Describes people coming together and suddenly dispersing after something happens.

Examples

• 听到消息，人群就一哄而散。

  tīng dào xiāo xi，rén qún jiù yī hōng ér sàn。

  The crowd dispersed at the sound of the news.

• 大家一哄而散，商店里只剩下老板一个人。

  dà jiā yī hōng ér sàn，shāng diàn lǐ zhǐ shèng xià lǎo bǎn yī gè rén。

  Everyone scattered, leaving only the shop owner behind.

Related Idioms

• 作鸟兽散

• 一轰而散

Opposite Idioms

• 一哄而起

• 蜂拥而至

• 接踵而至