心驰神往

Origin and story

The phrase sends the mind racing toward something longed for: someone may remain physically in one place while attention and imagination are already elsewhere. Han Dian associates it with a passage in the History of the Sui's biography of Shi Xiang, where the wording describes being at the frontier while one's feelings hasten toward the imperial court. That is a related image, not these exact four characters.

The dictionary establishes strong longing or fascination but does not identify a unique occasion when the modern wording arose. Today it commonly describes the pull of a place, experience, or ideal that someone eagerly imagines.