Definition
This chengyu (four-character idiom) literally means 'Jiang Lang has exhausted his talent'. It refers to the story of the poet Jiang Yan (Jiang Lang), who lost his creative inspiration after a dream. Use it when someone who was once very creative—especially a writer or artist—runs out of fresh ideas or can no longer produce work of the same quality. The tone is negative and often self-deprecating.
f.e.
to have exhausted one's literary talentto run out of creative inspiration
Examples
- ，江郎才尽。Tā zuìjìn xiě bù chū hǎo wénzhāng, zhēnshi jiāng láng le.He can't write good articles lately; he's really run out of inspiration.
- ，江郎才尽。Zhè wèi zuòjiā duōnián gāochǎn, rújīn què miànlín jiāng láng de kùnjìng.This writer was highly productive for years, but now faces the dilemma of having exhausted his creative talent.
- ，江郎才尽。Suīrán tā céng shì zhùmíng shīrén, dàn jìn zuò yǐ xiǎn jiāng láng zhī tài.Although he was once a famous poet, his recent works already show signs of depleted talent.
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