后继乏人 lack of successors
Explanation
指缺乏继承人或接班人，用来形容某种事业或技艺面临断层的困境。
It means the lack of successors or inheritors, used to describe the predicament of a certain cause or skill facing a break in succession.
Origin Story
话说唐朝时期，有一个著名的书法大家，名叫张旭，他以狂草闻名于世。他的书法气势磅礴，洒脱不羁，被后人誉为“草圣”。张旭的学生众多，个个都对书法技艺充满热情，并努力学习张旭的书法技巧。然而，随着时间的推移，张旭的学生们逐渐老去，而年轻一代对书法的兴趣却日渐减弱。那些学成出师的学生们，有的转行经商，有的务农为生，鲜有人继续钻研书法艺术。张旭去世后，他的书法技艺无人继承，最终逐渐失传，成为了一段令人惋惜的历史。后人感叹，张旭的书法艺术虽然曾经辉煌一时，却最终因为后继乏人而走向了衰落，实在可惜！
In the Tang Dynasty, there was a famous calligrapher named Zhang Xu, known for his wild cursive script. His calligraphy was powerful and unrestrained, and he was later hailed as the "Sage of Cursive Script". Zhang Xu had many students, all passionate about calligraphy and diligently studying his techniques. However, as time passed, his students grew old, while younger generations showed less interest in calligraphy. Many students switched to business or farming, few continued to pursue calligraphy. After Zhang Xu's death, his calligraphy techniques went uninherited and gradually faded into oblivion, a regrettable chapter in history. Later generations lamented that while Zhang Xu's calligraphy once flourished, it ultimately declined due to a lack of successors.
Usage
主要用于形容某种技艺、事业等缺乏继承人，面临断层和衰落的危险。
Mainly used to describe the lack of successors in a certain skill, career, etc., facing the danger of discontinuity and decline.
Examples
-
他退休后，公司里后继乏人，让人担忧。
ta tuixiu hou, gongsi li houji farén, ràng rén dan you.
After his retirement, the company lacks successors, which is worrying.
-
这个技艺面临后继乏人的窘境。
zhe ge jiyi miànlin houji farén de jiǒngjìng
This skill is facing the predicament of lacking successors.