A butterfly in a dream
Refers to something false or unreal
Neutral
None
None
庄生梦蝶 (zhuāng shēng mèng dié)
庄周梦蝶 (zhuāng zhōu mèng dié)
庄子 (Zhuāng Zǐ) was also known as 庄周 (Zhuāng Zhōu). This is where the two variations of this 成语 come from
《庄子》(Zhuāng Zǐ), a work written by 庄子 (Zhuāng Zǐ, the same as in the title) during the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC)
In the Warring States period (战国, 475 - 221 BC), the famous philosopher 庄子 (Zhuāng Zǐ) wrote a book which contained many fables that he used to illustrate his philosophical viewpoints. In one story, he wrote that he dreamed that he was a butterfly that happily flew around and completely forgot about the worries of the human world. When he woke up, though, he didn't know whether he'd dreamt of a butterfly, or whether a butterfly had dreamt of him!