靡靡之音 mǐ mǐ zhī yīn Decadent music

Explanation

形容颓废、低级趣味的音乐。

Describes decadent and low-brow music.

Origin Story

春秋时期，晋平公在郊外建了一座奢华的宫殿，卫灵公带着乐师前来祝贺。席间，乐师演奏了一曲在濮水边听到的乐曲。晋国的乐师旷却立即制止，说这是商朝末年乐师延为纣王创作的靡靡之音，听多了会沉溺于声色享乐之中。果然，三年后，晋平公因沉溺酒色而亡国。这个故事警示人们，靡靡之音会败坏人的道德情操，最终导致亡国。

chūnqiū shíqí, jǐn píng gōng zài jiāowài jiàn le yī zuò shēhuá de gōngdiàn, wèi líng gōng dài zhe yuèshī qǐng lái zhùhè. xíjiān, yuèshī yǎnzòu le yī qǔ zài pū shuǐ biān tīng dào de yuèqǔ. jìn de yuèshī kuàng què lìjí zhìzhǐ, shuō zhè shì shāng cháo mònián yuèshī yán wèi zhòu wáng chuàngzuò de mǐmǐ zhī yīn, tīng duō le huì chénnì yú shēngsè xiǎnglè zhī zhōng. guǒrán, sān nián hòu, jǐn píng gōng yīn chénnì jiǔsè ér wáng guó. zhège gùshì jǐngshì rénmen, mǐmǐ zhī yīn huì bàihuài rén de dàodé qíngcáo, zuìzhōng dǎozhì wáng guó.

During the Spring and Autumn period, Jin Pinggong built a luxurious palace outside the city. Wei Linggong came to congratulate him with musicians. During the banquet, a musician played a piece of music he had heard by the Pu River. However, Jin’s musician Kuang immediately stopped him, saying that this was the decadent music that Yan, a musician at the end of the Shang Dynasty, had composed for King Zhou, and that listening to it too much would lead to indulgence in sensual pleasures. Sure enough, three years later, Jin Pinggong lost his country because of indulging in wine and women. This story warns people that decadent music can corrupt people's morals and eventually lead to the downfall of a country.

Usage

用于形容颓废、低级趣味的音乐或其他事物。

yòng yú xiáomíng tuífèi, dījí qùwèi de yuèqín huò qítā shìwù

Used to describe decadent and low-brow music or other things.

Examples

• 他沉溺于靡靡之音，荒废了学业。

  tā chénnì yú mǐmǐ zhī yīn, huāngfèi le xuéyè.

  He indulged in decadent music and neglected his studies.

• 这种靡靡之音会腐蚀人的意志。

  zhè zhǒng mǐmǐ zhī yīn huì fǔshí rén de yìzhì

  This kind of decadent music will corrode people's will.

Related Idioms

• 靡靡之音

• 靡靡之乐

Opposite Idioms

• 正气凛然的音乐

• 高雅的音乐