邯かん鄲たんの夢ゆめ

noun

vain dream of wealth and glory; illusory worldly success

A classical Chinese-derived idiom (故事成語) referring to the fleeting nature of worldly ambitions, based on the story of a man who dreamed of a lifetime of prosperity while his millet was cooking. Used in literary or reflective contexts.

• 彼かれは邯かん鄲たんの夢ゆめのような人じん生せいを送おくった。

  He lived a life like a vain dream of wealth and glory.

• 栄えい華がを極きわめた将しょう軍ぐんも、今いま思おもえば邯かん鄲たんの夢ゆめに過すぎなかった。

  The general who reached the pinnacle of glory, in retrospect, was nothing more than an illusory dream.