"The Tears of Meng Jiangnv Weeping at the Great Wall" is a famous Chinese folk legend originating from the story of Qi Liang's wife in the Zuo Zhuan, which later evolved into the tragic tale of Meng Jiangnv traveling a thousand miles to find her husband and weeping until the Great Wall collapsed. The deeper meaning of this idiom refers to expressing strong protest against tyranny, injustice, or immense suffering through sorrowful weeping or accusation. It is often used to describe extreme grief and lamentation, or as a metaphor for the tragic and heroic act of the weak resisting powerful forces. It is commonly used in literary and critical contexts to describe accusations against unjust fate or grief over the separation of loved ones. In terms of cultural background, it reflects the collective memory of ancient people's suffering from forced labor, wars, and other hardships. With intense emotional coloring and a spirit of tragedy and resistance, it embodies both sympathy and compassion as well as criticism of oppression.
📝 Example
1. Her plight was like Meng Jiangnü weeping at the Great Wall, every tear and cry a bitter indictment of fate's injustice.
2. With a pen as sorrowful as Meng Jiangnü weeping at the Great Wall, this novel exposes the profound suffering that war inflicted on ordinary people.