后继无人 hòu jì wú rén no successor

Explanation

指没有后人继承前人的事业。

Means there are no successors to inherit the cause of their predecessors.

Origin Story

一代宗师张三丰，武功盖世，桃李满天下。然而，他晚年却忧心忡忡，因为他发现自己所创立的武当派，后继无人。他的弟子们，有的贪图享乐，有的沉迷于名利，很少有人能够真正领悟他的武学精髓。张三丰曾经尝试过多种方法，想要找到一个能够继承他衣钵的弟子，可是徒劳无功。他深知，武当派的未来，岌岌可危。张三丰最终抱憾而终，武当派也逐渐没落。

yīdài zōngshī zhāng sān fēng, wǔgōng gàishì, táo lǐ mǎn tiān xià. rán'ér, tā wǎnnián què yōuxīn chōngchōng, yīnwèi tā fāxiàn zìjǐ suǒ chuànglì de wǔdāng pài, hòujì wú rén. tā de dìzǐ men, yǒude tāntú xiǎnglè, yǒude chénmí yú mínglì, hǎo shǎo rén nénggòu zhēnzhèng lǐngwù tā de wǔxué jīngsúǐ. zhāng sān fēng céngjīng chángshì guò duō zhǒng fāngfǎ, xiǎng yào zhǎodào yīgè nénggòu jìchéng tā yībō de dìzǐ, kěshì tūláo wúgōng. tā shēnzhī, wǔdāng pài de wèilái, jíjí wēi. zhāng sān fēng zuìzhōng bàohàn ér zhōng, wǔdāng pài yě zhújiàn mòluò.

Zhang Sanfeng, a master of martial arts, had numerous students. But in his later years, he was worried because he found that his Wudang school had no successors. His disciples, some indulging in pleasure, others obsessed with fame and fortune, few could truly understand the essence of his martial arts. Zhang Sanfeng had tried many methods to find a worthy successor, but to no avail. He knew that the future of the Wudang school was precarious. Eventually, Zhang Sanfeng died with regret, and the Wudang school gradually declined.

Usage

作谓语、定语；形容事业缺少接班人。

zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; xíngróng shìyè quēshǎo jiēbānrén

Used as predicate or attributive; describes a lack of successors in a career.

Examples

• 这家老字号面临着后继无人的困境。

  zhè jiā lǎozìhào miàn línzhe hòujì wú rén de kùnjìng

  This old shop is facing the difficulty of having no successors.

• 这项技术如果后继无人，将会失传。

  zhè xiàng jìshù rúguǒ hòujì wú rén, jiāng huì shī chuán

  If this technology has no successors, it will be lost.

Related Idioms

• 后继乏人

Opposite Idioms

• 后继有人