禮崩樂壞

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Chinese

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gift; propriety; rite collapse; fall into ruins
music; happy; laugh
music; happy; laugh; cheerful
 
bad; evil; rotten
bad; evil; rotten; spoiled
 
trad. (禮崩樂壞)
simp. (礼崩乐坏)

Etymology

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From the Analects, Book 17 (《論語·陽貨》):

宰我:「君子。…… [Classical Chinese, trad.]
宰我:「君子。…… [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǎi Wǒ wèn: “Sān nián zhī sāng, qī yǐ jiǔ yǐ. Jūnzǐ sān nián bù wéi lǐ, huài; sān nián bù wéi yuè, yuèbēng....... [Pinyin]
Zai Wo asked about the three years' mourning for parents, saying that one year was long enough. "If the superior man abstains for three years from the observances of propriety, those observances will be quite lost. If for three years he abstains from music, music will be ruined. …

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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禮崩樂壞

  1. (literally) feudal system collapses and rites and music deteriorate
  2. (figuratively) social order collapses and morals deteriorate