The idiom "a troubled time" comes from Beimeng Suoyan.
Tips
history
Its author 孙光宪 (died 968) served the small southern state of Jingnan during the Five Dynasties and went over to the Song in 963, so the book is dated to either period. Of its original 30 juan, 20 survive. 销声匿迹 'to vanish without a trace' goes back to it, in the form 销声敛迹.
usage
The title is usually explained as 'trifling talk from north of Meng': 梦 stands for the ancient 云梦泽 marshes, and the author lived at 江陵, north of them. It has nothing to do with dreams.
