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商女不知亡国恨

商女不知亡國恨
shāngnǚbùzhīwángguóhèn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the singing girls do not know the grief of a fallen nation
  2. 2 entertainers party on, oblivious to national ruin
  3. 3 pointed criticism of decadence during crisis

Examples

国家危难之时，有人还在夜夜笙歌，真是商女不知亡国恨。
Guójiā wēinàn zhī shí, yǒurén hái zài yè yè shēng gē, zhēn shì shāng nǚ bù zhī wáng guó hèn.
In a time of national crisis some still sing and dance every night — truly 'the singing girls know no grief of a lost country.'
他写社评讽刺：商女不知亡国恨，隔江犹唱后庭花。
Tā xiě shè píng fěngcì: shāng nǚ bù zhī wáng guó hèn, gé jiāng yóu chàng Hòutínghuā.
In his editorial he cut deep: 'the singing girls know no grief of a fallen nation — across the river they still sing Flowers of the Rear Court.'

Tips

history
From Du Mu's (杜牧, Tang dynasty) 《泊秦淮》: 烟笼寒水月笼沙，夜泊秦淮近酒家。商女不知亡国恨，隔江犹唱后庭花 — 'Mist veils the cold water, moonlight veils the sand; I moor at Qinhuai by the taverns. The singing girls know not the grief of the fallen nation — across the river they still sing 《后庭花》 (Flowers of the Rear Court).' The poem names the Chen dynasty's farewell tune as a warning: the late Tang is repeating Chen's decadence.
usage
Always quoted with its twin 隔江犹唱后庭花 ('across the river they still sing Flowers of the Rear Court'). 商女 literally 'singing girls' — courtesan-entertainers of the Qinhuai pleasure district in Nanjing. The couplet is the canonical Chinese indictment of elite decadence during national decline.

Stroke Order

商 shāng
女 nǚ
不 bù
知 zhī
亡 wáng
国 guó
恨 hèn