事过境迁

事過境遷
shìguò-jìngqiān
idiom #46,336

Meanings

  1. 1 the event has passed and circumstances have changed
  2. 2 water under the bridge
  3. 3 things have moved on

Examples

HSK 6
Shìguòjìngqiān, méi bìyào zài zhēnglùn le.
It's water under the bridge - no need to argue any more.
HSK 7-9
Shìguòjìngqiān zhīhòu, tā duì nà duàn wǎngshì yǐjīng shìrán le.
Once enough time had passed, he made peace with that chapter of his past.

Tips

history
Attested in the late-Qing novel 《黄绣球》 (Huang Xiuqiu, 1905) by Yi Suo (颐琐): 黄绣球与黄通理事过境迁,已不在心上 - 'For Huang Xiuqiu and Huang Tongli the matter was past and the circumstances changed; it no longer weighed on their minds.'
usage
Often used to argue for letting something go. Common collocations: 事过境迁了 (it's all in the past now), 事过境迁之后 (once enough time has passed).

Stroke Order

事 shì
过 guò
境 jìng
迁 qiān