Chinese idiom · 成语
灯火阑珊
Meaning
Lanterns dim and sparse; fading festivity.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary usageThe expression is famous from Xin Qiji's Lantern Festival lyric to the tune Qing Yu An. Its opening is crowded with brilliant lanterns, decorated carriages, music, and festive figures. The speaker searches repeatedly among the crowd, then suddenly turns and sees the sought-for person where the lights are sparse and dim.
That quiet setting gains its force from contrast with the festival's dazzling activity. Lanshan means dwindling or sparse here, not brightly blazing. The poem supplies a literary scene, not a documented romantic episode from Xin Qiji's life. The expression can describe subdued nighttime lights without requiring the poem's search or encounter.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
散场后，街上灯火阑珊，只剩几家小店还开着门。
After the show, the street lights were sparse and dim, with only a few small shops still open.
A literary description of sparse or fading lights, not brilliant illumination.