Chinese idiom · 成语
黄粱一梦
Meaning
A dream of yellow millet; fleeting illusions of grandeur.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary taleShen Jiji's Tang tale Zhenzhong ji tells of Lu Sheng, who meets the Daoist Lü Weng at an inn in Handan. Dissatisfied with his prospects, Lu Sheng borrows the stranger's pillow and dreams of a successful marriage, high office, wealth, and a long life. When he wakes, he is still in the inn: the millet being prepared for their meal has not finished cooking.
A whole apparent lifetime has passed within a brief pause. Lu Sheng recognizes how uncertain worldly success and loss can be. The idiom draws on this fictional dream to describe glory or ambitious hopes that prove fleeting or unreal; later dramatic versions vary the characters and details.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
公司倒闭后，他靠股票一夜暴富的愿望成了黄粱一梦。
After the company collapsed, his hope of getting rich overnight from its shares proved an empty dream.
Especially suited to vanished dreams of wealth, status, or glory.