Chinese idiom · 成语
心猿意马
Meaning
Heart like a monkey, mind like a horse; restless and unfocused thoughts.
Character by character
Origin and story
religious metaphorReligious writing compares an unsettled mind to animals that will not stay still: an ape leaps about, while a horse runs off. A Dunhuang exposition of the Vimalakirti Sutra uses the exact expression while describing the quieting of mental agitation. A related pairing appears in the Tang biography of Xuanzang, asking that the restless ape of feeling and galloping horse of intention be restrained.
Daoist cultivation writing also uses the same animal imagery. It is therefore better understood as a shared language of training attention than as one literal adventure involving a monkey and horse. Later drama and fiction apply it to everyday distraction, wavering intentions, and desire that keeps pulling a person's thoughts away.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
假期快到了，我坐在电脑前也心猿意马，总想着去哪里玩。
With the holiday approaching, I can't focus at my computer and keep thinking about where to go.
For wandering attention, restless desires, or indecision; not specifically a romantic expression.