白衣苍狗 White clothes, grey dog
Explanation
比喻事物变化无常，像天上的浮云一会儿像白衣，一会儿又像苍狗一样变化不定。
It is a metaphor for the impermanence of things, like the clouds in the sky, which sometimes look like white clothes and sometimes like grey dogs.
Origin Story
唐朝诗人杜甫写过一首诗，其中有“天上浮云似白衣，斯须改变如苍狗”的诗句。这句诗描绘了天上云彩变化万千的景象，一会儿像白色的衣服，一会儿又像灰色的狗，以此比喻世事变化莫测，难以捉摸。 故事讲述了唐朝书生王季友的妻子柳氏因不堪贫寒而离他而去，世人误解王季友。杜甫为此作诗感叹世事变幻，如同天上浮云，瞬息万变，令人难以预料。 王季友虽然寒窗苦读，却始终没有得到功名，家中更是贫困潦倒，妻子柳氏受不了如此困苦的生活，最终选择了离开他，另寻出路。 柳氏离家后，人们纷纷指责王季友，说他一定做了什么对不起妻子的事情，才会导致妻子离他而去。可王季友有口难辩，只能默默承受着这些流言蜚语。 杜甫得知此事后，深感同情，写下了这首诗来表达对王季友的理解和支持，同时也感叹世事变幻莫测，人生如戏，充满了变数。 后来，“白衣苍狗”这个成语便流传开来，用来比喻事物变化无常，如同这天上变幻莫测的浮云，让人捉摸不透。
Du Fu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem that included the line “天上浮云似白衣，斯须改变如苍狗”. This line depicts the ever-changing clouds in the sky, sometimes like white clothes, sometimes like grey dogs, thus metaphorically illustrating the unpredictable changes in the world.The story tells of Wang Jiyou, a scholar of the Tang Dynasty, whose wife, Liu Shi, left him due to their impoverished circumstances. People misunderstood Wang Jiyou, so Du Fu wrote a poem to express his sympathy and understanding of Wang Jiyou’s situation and lamented the impermanence of worldly affairs and the unpredictable changes in life. Later, "bai yi cang gou" became an idiom used to describe the unpredictability of things and the uncertainty of life.
Usage
比喻事物变化无常。
To describe the impermanence of things.
Examples
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世事变幻莫测，正如白衣苍狗，难以捉摸。
shìshì biànhuàn mòcè, zhèngrú báiyī cānggǒu, nányǐ zhuōmó
The world is ever-changing, like the fleeting clouds, difficult to predict.
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人生如戏，如同白衣苍狗，变幻无常。
rénshēng rú xì, rútóng báiyī cānggǒu, biànhuàn wúcháng
Life is like a play, full of changes, like white clothes changing into grey dogs