江郎才尽

江郎才盡

jiānglángcáijìn

idiom #29,754

Meanings

1 to have exhausted one's creative talent
2 to have writer's block
3 to have used up one's abilities

Characters

river; (here) surname Jiang

young man; a form of address

talent; ability

exhausted; finished; used up

Examples

这位作家连续出了几本烂书，看来是江郎才尽了。

Zhè wèi zuòjiā liánxù chū le jǐ běn làn shū, kànlái shì jiānglángcáijìn le.

This author has published several bad books in a row — it seems his creative talent has run dry.

很多人担心人工智能会让创意工作者江郎才尽。

Hěn duō rén dānxīn réngōng zhìnéng huì ràng chuàngyì gōngzuòzhě jiānglángcáijìn.

Many people worry that AI will cause creative workers to lose their inspiration.

Tips

history

This idiom refers to Jiang Yan (江淹, 444–505 AD), a famous Southern Qi dynasty writer known for his beautiful prose. Legend says he dreamed a man took back a magical brush (神笔), after which his writing became mediocre. 江郎 = 'young master Jiang'.

Stroke Order

江 jiāng

郎 láng

才 cái

尽 jǐn