不堪回首 unbearable to look back
Explanation
堪：可以忍受；回首：回顾，回忆。指对过去的事情想起来就会感到痛苦，因而不忍去回忆。形容对过去的事情感到痛苦，不愿回忆。
Kān: can bear; look back: look back, recall. It means that when one thinks of the past, one will feel pain and therefore cannot bear to recall it. It describes a feeling of pain and unwillingness to recall the past.
Origin Story
公元960年，赵匡胤陈桥兵变建立宋朝，大举进攻与消灭了南平、后蜀、南汉等国。南唐后主李煜不问朝政，只会吟诗作词，被宋朝打败，投降后被封为违命侯。李煜作词：“小楼昨夜又东风，故国不堪回首月明中。”被宋太宗杀害。李煜词作，寄托着对故国的无限思念和无尽的哀伤，也体现了亡国之君的无奈和痛苦，这首词也成为千古名篇，流传至今。
In 960 AD, Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty through a coup in Chenqiao and conquered and destroyed the kingdoms of Nanping, Houshu and Nanhan. The last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Yu, did not care about state affairs, but only wrote poems and songs, was defeated by the Song Dynasty, and after surrendering was named
Usage
用于表达对过去痛苦经历的追忆和不愿回忆的心情。
It is used to express the memory of past painful experiences and the unwillingness to recall them.
Examples
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看着这片荒凉的土地，他不禁想起往事，心中充满了不堪回首的悲痛。
kàn zhe zhè piàn huāng liáng de tǔ dì, tā bù jìn xiǎng qǐ wǎng shì, xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le bù kān huí shǒu de bēi tòng.
Looking at this desolate land, he couldn't help but think of the past, and his heart was filled with unbearable grief.
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如今，昔日的繁华已成过眼云烟，不堪回首。
rú jīn, xī rì de fán huá yǐ chéng guò yǎn yún yān, bù kān huí shǒu.
Today, the former prosperity has become a thing of the past, and it is unbearable to look back.
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他一生经历了许多磨难，现在只想忘掉那些不堪回首的往事，享受平静的生活。
tā yī shēng jīng lì le xǔ duō mó nàn, xiàn zài zhǐ xiǎng wàng diào nà xiē bù kān huí shǒu de wǎng shì, xiǎng shòu píng jìng de shēng huó.
He has experienced many hardships in his life, and now he just wants to forget those unbearable memories and enjoy a peaceful life.