借尸还魂 borrow a corpse to return one's soul
Explanation
比喻已经消灭或没落的事物又以另一种形式出现。也指迷信说法,人死后灵魂附着在他人尸体上复活。
A metaphor for something that has been eliminated or declined but reappears in another form. It also refers to the superstitious belief that a soul after a person's death attaches itself to another person's body and is resurrected.
Origin Story
话说古代,有一个叫李员外的富家公子,生性顽劣,不学无术,挥霍无度,家产败尽后,郁郁而终。死后,其魂魄不愿离去,始终在老宅徘徊,伺机借尸还魂。恰逢村里来了一个落魄书生,衣衫褴褛,面黄肌瘦,与李员外公子生前容貌有几分相似。这书生因病去世,尸体无人认领。李员外的魂魄便乘虚而入,附身于书生的尸体上。醒来之后,他仿佛忘记了以往的荒唐事,变得勤奋好学,最终金榜题名,光宗耀祖。从此,李员外家道中兴,也算得上是借尸还魂,改过自新了。
Once upon a time, there was a wealthy young man named Li Yuanwai in ancient times. He was inherently mischievous, uneducated, and extravagant. After squandering all his family's wealth, he died young and unhappy. After his death, his soul refused to depart, constantly lingering in his old house, waiting for the chance to reincarnate. It happened that a down-and-out scholar came to the village, ragged, pale, and thin. This scholar died of illness and his body went unclaimed. Li Yuanwai's spirit seized the opportunity and entered the scholar's body. Upon waking, he seemed to have forgotten his past follies, and became studious, eventually passing the imperial examinations and bringing honor to his ancestors. From then on, the Li Yuanwai family prospered, a testament to reincarnation and self-improvement.
Usage
用于比喻事物消亡后又以另一种形式出现,或指迷信说法中人死后灵魂附着在他人尸体上复活。
Used to illustrate that something reappears in another form after its demise, or to describe the superstitious belief that a soul after a person's death attaches to another person's body and is resurrected.
Examples
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他虽然失败了,但他并没有气馁,而是准备东山再起,借尸还魂。
ta suiran shibai le, dan ta bing meiyou qineng, er shi zhunbei dongshan zaichi, jieshi huanhun
Although he failed, he did not lose heart, but prepared to rise again and reincarnate.
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这家公司已经倒闭了,但是它的创始人又成立了一家新公司,真是借尸还魂啊!
zhe jia gongsi yijing daobi le, danshi ta de chuangshi zhe you chengli le yijia xin gongsi, zhen shi jieshi huanhun a
This company has gone bankrupt, but its founder has started a new company. What a reincarnation!