The condition is so serious that it cannot be cured. It can also describe the situation of something so serious that it cannot be saved.
Idiom Pronunciation:
病入膏肓
bìng rù gāo huāng
Origin:
春秋·左丘明《左传·成公十年》：医至，曰：“疾不可为也，在肓之上，膏之下，攻之不可，达之不及，药不至焉，不可为也。”公曰：“良医也。”厚为之礼而归之。
Story:
During the Spring and Autumn Period in China, Duke Jing of Jin was seriously ill, and when he heard that there was a doctor in Qin who was very skilled in healing slowly, he sent someone specially to invite him. The doctor hadn’t arrived yet. In a trance, Duke Jing of Jin had a dream. In the dream, his illness turned into two children who were talking quietly beside him, and Duke Jing of Jin listened sideways.
One said, “That brilliant doctor Slow is coming soon, I think we will not be able to escape this time, where shall we hide?” The other child said, “There is nothing to be afraid of, we will hide above the vile and below the ointment, no matter how he uses the medicine, he cannot help us.” In a short time, the doctor arrived and was immediately invited into the bedroom of Duke Jing of Jin to diagnose his condition. After the diagnosis, the doctor said to the Duke of Jin, “There is no cure for this disease. The disease is above the vitals and below the anointing, moxibustion cannot be used to treat it, needles cannot be used to treat it, and tonics cannot be used to treat it. There is really no cure for this disease.”
Hearing this, the Duke of Jin thought that the doctor’s words were indeed a confirmation of his dream about the two children. After that, he sent a generous gift to the doctor and told him to go back to Qin. Of course, this is only a legend, but now it often means that the illness is so critical that it cannot be saved, and it is also often used as a metaphor for things that have reached a point of no return.
Similar Idioms:
- 无可救药
