Chinese Idiom: 江郎才尽 (Jiang Lang Cai Jin)
English Translation: Jiang Lang’s talent is exhausted
pīn yīn: jiāng láng cái jìn
Idiom Meaning: This idiom is used to describe a situation where someone’s talent or creative abilities have declined or been exhausted.
Historical Source: 《南史·江淹传》 (The Book of Southern Dynasties, Biography of Jiang Yan).
Idiom Story:
During the Southern Dynasties period of China, there was a young man named Jiang Yan who was highly praised for his poetry and writings. He was admired by his contemporaries and affectionately called “Jiang Lang” (Mr. Jiang). However, over time, his ability to produce remarkable works began to wane, leading people to say that his “talent had been exhausted.”
The decline in Jiang Yan’s creative output was attributed to a mysterious story. According to legend, Jiang Yan was once serving as the governor of Xuancheng. After being dismissed from his position and returning home, he dreamed of a figure claiming to be Guo Pu (a renowned literary figure from the Eastern Jin Dynasty). Guo Pu allegedly told him, “I have had a pen with you for many years; it should be returned.” Jiang Yan then took out a five-colored pen from his chest and returned it to Guo Pu. After this dream, Jiang Yan’s talent seemed to diminish, and he no longer produced noteworthy works.
Of course, this mystical story is not the actual reason for Jiang Yan’s decline in literary output. The real cause was his changed circumstances. Jiang Yan grew up in poverty after losing his father at a young age and had to support his mother by chopping wood. Despite these hardships, he worked diligently and produced poetry that was rich and deeply expressive of his struggles and observations of the world. As he gained fame and held higher official positions, his life became more comfortable and affluent. He felt that he had achieved enough in his life and no longer had the same drive or inspiration to create exceptional work. Thus, people said his “talent had been exhausted.”
This story eventually gave rise to the idiom “江郎才尽” (Jiang Lang’s talent is exhausted), used to describe a person whose creative or intellectual abilities have diminished.
