白云苍狗 bái yún cāng gǒu White clouds, gray dogs

Explanation

苍：灰白色。浮云象白衣裳，顷刻又变得象苍狗。比喻事物变化不定。

苍: grayish white. The floating clouds are like white clothes, and in a moment they change to look like gray dogs. A metaphor for the impermanence of things.

Origin Story

唐代诗人杜甫在《可叹》诗中写道：“天上浮云似白衣，斯须改变如苍狗。”这首诗是杜甫为他的朋友王季友鸣不平而作的。王季友的妻子柳氏不堪忍受贫寒的生活，抛弃了王季友，社会上有些人不明真相，纷纷指责王季友。杜甫在诗中以浮云的变幻比喻世事无常，感叹世人只看表面，不了解事情的真相，就轻易下结论，这真是“白云苍狗”，令人感慨万千。

Táng dài shī rén Dù Fǔ zài 《Kě tàn》shī zhōng xiě dào:“Tiān shàng fú yún sì bái yī, sī xū gǎi biàn rú cāng gǒu.” Zhè shǒu shī shì Dù Fǔ wèi tā de péng yǒu Wáng Jì yǒu míng bù píng ér zuò de. Wáng Jì yǒu de qī zi Liǔ shì bù kān rěn shòu pín hán de shēng huó, pāo qì le Wáng Jì yǒu, shè huì shàng yǒu xiē rén bù míng zhēn xiàng, fēn fēn zhǐ zé Wáng Jì yǒu. Dù Fǔ zài shī zhōng yǐ fú yún de biàn huàn bǐ yù shì shì wú cháng, gǎn tàn shì rén zhǐ kàn biǎo miàn, bù liǎo jiě shì qíng de zhēn xiàng, jiù qīng yì xià jié lùn, zhè zhēn shì “bái yún cāng gǒu”, lìng rén gǎn kǎi wàn qiān.

The Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu wrote in his poem "Alas" ,

Usage

这个成语常用来形容事物变化无常，或用来讽刺那些不了解情况，就妄下结论的人。

zhè ge chéng yǔ cháng yòng lái xíng róng shì wù biàn huàn wú cháng, huò yòng lái fěng cì nà xiē bù liǎo jiě qíng kuàng, jiù wàng xià jié lùn de rén.

This idiom is often used to describe the impermanence of things, or to satirize those who are uninformed and jump to conclusions.

Examples

• 世事白云苍狗，谁能料定未来？

  shì shì bái yún cāng gǒu, shuí néng liào dìng wèi lái?

  The world is like white clouds and gray dogs, who can determine the future?

• 人生如同白云苍狗，变幻莫测。

  rén shēng rú tóng bái yún cāng gǒu, biàn huàn mò cè

  Life is like white clouds and gray dogs, unpredictable.

Related Idioms

• 变化无常

• 瞬息万变

• 白衣苍狗

Opposite Idioms

• 一成不变

• 千古不变