江郎才盡

Chinese

	Mr. Jiang (Jiang Yan)	ability; talent; endowment ability; talent; endowment; gift; an expert; only (then); only if; just	to use up; to exhaust; to end to use up; to exhaust; to end; to finish; to the utmost; exhausted; finished; to the limit (of something)
trad. (江郎才盡)	江郎	才	盡
simp. (江郎才尽)	江郎	才	尽
Literally: “Jiang Yan has exhausted his talent”.

Etymology

初，淹罷宣城郡，遂宿冶亭，夢一美丈夫，自稱郭璞，謂淹曰：「我有筆在卿處多年矣，可以見還。」淹探懷中，得五色筆以授之。爾後為詩，不復成語，故世傳江淹才盡。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

初，淹罢宣城郡，遂宿冶亭，梦一美丈夫，自称郭璞，谓淹曰：「我有笔在卿处多年矣，可以见还。」淹探怀中，得五色笔以授之。尔后为诗，不复成语，故世传江淹才尽。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhong Rong, The Critique of Poetry (詩品)

Chū, Yān bà Xuānchéng jùn, suì sù Yětíng, mèng yī měi zhàngfū, zìchēng Guō Pú, wèi Yān yuē: “Wǒ yǒu bǐ zài qīng chù duōnián yǐ, kěyǐ jiàn hái.” Yān tàn huái zhōng, dé wǔsè bǐ yǐ shòu zhī. Ěrhòu wèi shī, bù fù chéng yǔ, gù shì chuán Jiāng Yān cái jìn. [Pinyin]

At first, Jiang Yan resigned from his official post at Xuancheng. Then, he resided at Yeting (in Nanjing). There he dreamt a handsome man who called himself Guo Pu. He said, "I have a writing brush that you borrowed for many years. Can you return it to me now?" Jiang Yan then searched inside his clothes, and he found a five-coloured brush and then returned to him. After that, when Jiang tried to write poems, he could never write a single sentence again. Therefore, it was said that Jiang's talent has been exhausted.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jiānglángcáijìn

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄤㄌㄤˊ ㄘㄞˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gong¹ long⁴ coi⁴ zeon⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiānglángcáijìn
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄤㄌㄤˊ ㄘㄞˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jianglángcáijìn
  - Wade–Giles: chiang¹-lang²-tsʻai²-chin⁴
  - Yale: jyāng-láng-tsái-jìn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jianglangtsairjinn
  - Palladius: цзянланцайцзинь (czjanlancajczinʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ lɑŋ³⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gong¹ long⁴ coi⁴ zeon⁶
  - Yale: gōng lòhng chòih jeuhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gong¹ long⁴ tsoi⁴ dzoen⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: gong¹ long⁴ coi⁴ zên⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɔːŋ⁵⁵ lɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ t͡sɵn²²/

Idiom

江郎才盡

(figurative) to have used up one's creative powers; to have writer's block