Arriving while interest is high. Metaphorically speaking, to arrive in high spirits.
Idiom Pronunciation:
乘兴而来
chéng xìng ér lái
Origin:
南朝·宋·刘义庆《世说新语·任诞》：王子猷居山阴，夜大雪。眠觉，开室，命酌酒。四望皎然，因起彷徨，咏左思《招隐诗》。忽忆戴安道，时戴在剡，即便夜乘小船就之。经宿方至，造门不前而反。人问其故，王曰：“吾本乘兴而行，兴尽而返，何必见戴？”
Story:
Wang Huizhi was the son of Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who was arrogant by nature, unwilling to be restrained by others, and behaved in an unrestrained manner. Although he was an official in the court, he often wandered around and did not deal with the daily affairs of the government office. Later, he simply resigned from his official position and lived in seclusion in Shan Yin, playing in the mountains, drinking wine and reciting poems every day, but he was also free.
One winter, goose feather snow has been falling for several days. One night, the snow stopped. There was a bright moon in the sky, and the bright moonlight shone on the white snow, as if there were crystal dazzling flowers blooming everywhere, white and lovely. Wang Huizhi pushed open the window, saw the surrounding snow-capped, really beautiful, suddenly excitedly asked his family to bring out the table and chairs, get wine and food, sitting alone in the courtyard to slowly drink up. He drank, watched the scenery, recited poetry, happy to dance with his hands. Suddenly, he felt that this scene, if accompanied by the sound of the piano, it would be more moving. Thus, he remembered his friend Dai Kui, who could play the zither and paint. “Hey, why don’t I go see him right away?” So, Wang Huizhi immediately asked his servants to prepare a boat and swing an oar, and went there overnight. He did not consider that he was in Shangyin and Dai Kui was in Hepingxi, which was quite a distance between the two places.
The moonlight shone on the river, and the water was sparkling. The boat went forward briskly, and the scenery along the way was covered with silver. Wang Huizhi viewed such a beautiful night, as if he had entered a fairyland. “Hurry! Hurry up! Make the boat faster!” Wang Huizhi urged the servant, hating to see Dai Kui earlier and enjoy the beautiful scenery together. The boat traveled all night, and finally arrived at Heping River at dawn. But Wang Huizhi suddenly asked the servant to support the boat back. The servant was baffled and asked him in amazement why he did not go ashore to see Dai Kui. Wang Huizhi smiled lightly and said, “I came here on the spur of the moment. Now that the excitement is gone, of course I should go back, why must I see Dai Kui.”
“But” the boatman asked puzzledly again, “since this nature’s scenery is incessant and eternally beautiful, so that you can relieve the loneliness of being alone, so that you can be refreshed again, then you invite Mr. Dai not to go with you on the lake, share this nature’s scenery together, sing and sing poems, and exchange their Isn’t it better?”
Wang Huizhi smiled lightly: “I came here to enjoy myself and returned to the end of my pleasure, in accordance with my own nature. If, at this moment, I invite Dai Kui to go on a boat trip with me to enjoy the lake and the mountains together, Dai Kui will certainly agree, although this may not be Dai Kui’s original intention. If this is not from Dai Kui’s original intention, then I would be letting my good friend Dai Kui violate his nature. Then, since I am a person who lives according to his nature, why should I force Dai Kui to go against his nature to swim with me in the lake? Therefore, I just follow my own nature, come here with pleasure and return when I have finished; as for how my good friend Dai Kui follows his nature to arrange his life at this moment, that is his freedom, I don’t need to disturb him and force him.”
Similar Idioms:
- 欣然而至
