Idiom Explanation:
The name falls behind Sungshan at the end of the list. It refers to not being accepted in the examination or selection.
Pronunciation:
名落孙山
míng luò sūn shān
Origin:
宋·范公偁《过庭录》：“吴人孙山，滑稽才子也。赴举他郡，乡人讬以子偕往。乡人子失意，山缀榜末，先归。乡人问其子得失，山曰：‘解名尽处是孙山，贤郎更在孙山外。’”
Story:
During the Song Dynasty, there was a talented man named Sun Shan, who was not only humorous, but also good at telling jokes, so people in the neighborhood gave him the nickname “Comical Talent”.
Once, he and a fellow countryman’s son went to the capital together to take the examination for the imperial examinations. When the list was released, Sun Shan’s name was listed at the bottom of the list, but he was still on the list, while the son of the fellow villager who went with him did not pass the exam.
Soon, Sun Shan returned home first, and his fellow villagers came to ask if his son had taken the exam. Sun Shan was embarrassed to say so, but he could not conceal it, so he read out two lines of poetry, which were not poetic: “Xie Yuan is at the end of Sun Shan, but the son is outside Sun Shan.” Jieyuan is the first place in the imperial examination system in China. The so-called “Xieyuan” in Sun Shan’s poem is a general reference to the general examination candidates. The whole meaning of his poem is: “I, Sun Shan, am the last one on the list of candidates, but your son’s name is still behind me, Sun Shan.”
From then on, people called it “名落孙山” when he was not admitted to the school or to various exams.
Similar Idioms:
- 榜上无名
