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众人皆醉我独醒

眾人皆醉我獨醒
zhòngrénjiēzuìwǒdúxǐng
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 everyone else is drunk, I alone am sober
  2. 2 the crowd is deluded while I see clearly
  3. 3 (lit.) the many are all drunk, I alone am awake

Examples

面对全场的狂热，他苦笑着说：众人皆醉我独醒。
Miànduì quán chǎng de kuángrè, tā kǔxiào zhe shuō: zhòngrén jiē zuì wǒ dú xǐng.
Facing the fanatical crowd, he smiled bitterly and said, 'Everyone else is drunk; I alone am sober.'
做记者有时就是众人皆醉我独醒，孤独但必要。
Zuò jìzhě yǒushí jiùshì zhòngrén jiē zuì wǒ dú xǐng, gūdú dàn bìyào.
Being a journalist sometimes means being the only sober one in a drunken crowd — lonely, but necessary.

Tips

history
From Qu Yuan's (屈原) Warring-States-era dialogue 《渔父》 (The Fisherman), part of 《楚辞》. Exiled from the Chu court, Qu meets a fisherman and explains why he won't compromise: 『举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒，是以见放』— 'the whole world is muddied, I alone am clear; everyone is drunk, I alone am sober — that's why I'm banished.' Shortly after he drowned himself in the Miluo River, commemorated annually at Dragon Boat Festival.
usage
Carries both pride and tragedy — the sober one is morally right but socially isolated. Modern use ranges from genuine dissent to self-aware humor about being the one person not enjoying a party.

Stroke Order

众 zhòng
人 rén
皆 jiē
醉 zuì
我 wǒ
独 dú
醒 xǐng