多事之秋

duōshìzhīqiū

idiom #56,860

Meanings

1 an eventful autumn
2 a troubled period; a time of upheaval

Characters

affair; incident

(classical possessive)

autumn; (fig.) period, time

Examples

今年对公司来说是多事之秋。

Jīnnián duì gōngsī lái shuō shì duōshìzhīqiū.

This year has been a troubled time for the company.

国家正处于多事之秋，人心惶惶。

Guójiā zhèng chǔyú duōshìzhīqiū, rénxīn-huánghuáng.

The country is in a troubled period, and people are anxious.

在这个多事之秋，更要保持冷静。

Zài zhège duōshìzhīqiū, gèng yào bǎochí lěngjìng.

In such an eventful, turbulent period, it's all the more important to stay calm.

Tips

history

From Sun Guangxian's Song-dynasty miscellany 《北梦琐言》: '多事之秋，灭迹匿端' — 'in troubled times, erase your tracks and hide your ends.' Here 秋 means 'season' in the broad sense of 'period,' not literally autumn.

mistakes

Don't read 秋 as the season autumn. 多事之秋 = 多事之时 — the word 秋 is classical shorthand for 'a period / time.' So 多事之秋 applies any time of year.

Stroke Order

多 duō

事 shì

之 zhī

秋 qiū