乐极生悲 lè jí shēng bēi Happy sorrow

Explanation

乐极生悲是一个成语，意思是高兴到极点时，发生使人悲伤的事。它告诫人们要保持平常心，不要过度沉溺于喜悦，以免乐极生悲。

‚Happy sorrow‘ is a Chinese idiom that means happiness reaches its peak and sorrow is born. It warns people to keep a calm mind and not to indulge in joy too much, lest happiness turn into sorrow.

Origin Story

古代，有个名叫张三的人，他从小就非常聪明，学习也很刻苦，长大后考中了进士，官至宰相。张三一直都很得意，经常在朝堂上夸耀自己，而且还喜欢用金钱收买人心，以维护自己的权力。有一次，张三在宴会上喝得酩酊大醉，酒后失态，说了一些不该说的话，得罪了皇帝。皇帝勃然大怒，将他贬为庶民，还抄了他的家。张三从此一蹶不振，落得个妻离子散的下场。这便是“乐极生悲”的典型例子。

gǔ dài, yǒu ge míng jiào zhāng sān de rén, tā cóng xiǎo jiù fēi cháng cōng míng, xué xí yě hěn kè kǔ, zhǎng dà hòu kǎo zhòng le jìn shì, guān zhì zǎi xiàng. zhāng sān yī zhí dōu hěn dé yì, jīng cháng zài cháo táng shàng kuā yào zì jǐ, ér qiě hái xǐ huan yòng jīn qián shōu mǎi rén xīn, yǐ wéi hú zhì zì jǐ de quán lì. yǒu yī cì, zhāng sān zài yàn huì shàng hē de míng dǐng dà zuì, jiǔ hòu shī tài, shuō le yī xiē bù gāi shuō de huà, dé zuì le huáng dì. huáng dì bó rán nù nù, jiāng tā biǎn wéi shù mín, hái chāo le tā de jiā. zhāng sān cóng cǐ yī jué bù zhèn, luò de ge qī lì zi sàn de xià chǎng. zhè biàn shì “lè jí shēng bēi” de diǎn xíng lì zi.

In ancient times, there was a man named Zhang San, who was very intelligent from a young age and studied diligently. When he grew up, he passed the civil service examination and became a prime minister. Zhang San was always very proud of himself and often boasted at court about his achievements. He also liked to buy people's favor with money to maintain his power. Once, Zhang San got drunk at a banquet and misbehaved. He said some things he shouldn’t have said and offended the emperor. The emperor was furious and demoted him to a commoner. He also confiscated his house. From then on, Zhang San was dejected and ended up with a broken family. This is a typical example of “Happy sorrow”.

Usage

这个成语通常用于提醒人们要保持冷静，不要被喜悦冲昏头脑，否则可能会导致不好的结果。例如，在工作中取得了成绩，不要沾沾自喜，要继续努力，避免乐极生悲。

zhè ge chéng yǔ tóng cháng yòng yú tí xíng rén men yào bǎo chí lěng jìng, bù yào bèi xǐ yuè chōng hūn tóu nǎo, fǒu zé kě néng huì dǎo zhì bù hǎo de jié guǒ. lì rú, zài gōng zuò zhōng qǔ dé le chéng jì, bù yào zhān zhān zì xǐ, yào jì xù nǔ lì, bì miǎn lè jí shēng bēi.

This idiom is often used to remind people to stay calm and not be blinded by joy, otherwise it may lead to bad results. For example, if you achieve success in your work, don’t be complacent, keep working hard and avoid happiness turning into sorrow.

Examples

• 他做事总是乐极生悲，高兴的时候容易犯错误。

  tā zuò shì zǒng shì lè jí shēng bēi, gāo xìng de shí hou róng yì fàn cuò wù.

  He always gets into trouble when he's happy, he tends to make mistakes when he's happy.

• 这次考试，他本来很高兴，但成绩出来后却乐极生悲。

  zhè cì kǎo shì, tā běn lái hěn gāo xìng, dàn chéng jì chū lái hòu què lè jí shēng bēi.

  He was so happy about the exam, but he was unhappy when the results came out.

• 人生充满了起起伏伏，乐极生悲也是常态。

  rén shēng chōng mǎn le qǐ fù fǔ fù, lè jí shēng bēi yě shì cháng tài.

  Life is full of ups and downs, it's normal for happiness to turn into sorrow.

• 乐极生悲，告诫我们凡事要适可而止。

  lè jí shēng bēi, gào jiè wǒ men fán shì yào shì kě ér zhǐ.

  Happy sorrow warns us to know when to stop.

• 我们应该保持平常心，避免乐极生悲。

  wǒ men yīng gāi bǎo chí píng cháng xīn, bì miǎn lè jí shēng bēi.

  We should keep a calm mind and avoid happiness turning into sorrow.

Related Idioms

• 物极必反

• 否极泰来

• 盛极必衰

Opposite Idioms

• 乐而忘返

• 乐不思蜀

• 得意洋洋