Chinese idiom · 成语
老骥伏枥
Meaning
An old steed in the stable; ambition persists despite age.
Character by character
Origin and story
literaryCao Cao's poem Though the Tortoise Lives Long (龟虽寿), part of the Bu Chu Xia Men Xing sequence, begins by acknowledging that even wonderfully long-lived creatures eventually die. Against that limit, the poet sets an old fine horse resting by its manger while its ambition still reaches a thousand li. He then applies the image to people whose resolve remains strong in old age.
The horse is a poetic comparison, not a report about Cao Cao discovering a particular animal. The image holds physical age and continuing aspiration together: remaining at the manger does not extinguish the desire to run. The idiom is therefore especially suited to older people who retain substantial plans or a wish to contribute.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
退休后她还想创办社区图书馆，真是老骥伏枥，志在千里。
Even after retirement, she wants to establish a community library—her ambition remains undimmed.
Approving; focuses on enduring ambition in later life, not simply physical fitness.