desolate

门可罗雀

Duke Jai was a Han dynasty (汉朝) government official.

汲黯是汉朝的一位名臣。

Because he held a very high-ranking and powerful position, many of his friends, relatives, and even acquaintances whom he barely knew often went to call on him. So all day long, horses and chariots were lined up in front of his house; it was really as if "the courtyard was as crowded as a marketplace."

因为他位高权重，许多他的朋友、亲戚，甚至是泛泛之交的朋友都经常会来拜访他，所以他家总是门庭若市。

Later, however, Duke Jai had the sad misfortune of being removed from office.

后来他不幸被罢免，废了官职。

His friends and relatives then stopped going to see him, and soon the only ones left in front of his house were flock of sparrows which would fly about and stop to rest on his doorstep.

后来他的亲朋好友便渐渐疏远他了，很少再来看望他，他家的门前只剩下一群麻雀，在那里嬉戏。

Not long afterwards, Duke Jai was reinstated. As soon as his friends and relatives heard the news, they all once again began to ride their horses or drive their chariots back to visit him.

不久，皇帝又下诏请他回去做官。 过去常来的客人又纷纷来拜访他了。

Duke Jai, however, was now unwilling to see them, and door reproving those who would only associate with people of wealth and status.

但是汲黯因看清世事，便不愿再看到他们。

Today, we can use this idiom to describe any place which has been deserted, or where people are few.

如今我们可以用成语“门可罗雀”形容门庭冷落，冷冷清清。

【文化链接】

单用英文单词“desolate”就可以表达“冷清荒凉”的意思，比如“冷清的街道”就是“a desolate street”。

下面我们来看一首小诗：

Layin' in front of me are two roads:

在我的面前有两条路：

One flourished with multiple kinds of flowers and plants;

一条花木丛生;

The other , just a scene of desolation.

另一条门可罗雀，

However,I choosed the latter one.

但是我仍然选择了后者。

其中作者形容“人烟稀少的路”就用到了表达“a scene of desolation”，意思就是“另一条路有一点荒凉的感觉”。