南柯一梦 (nán kē yí mènɡ)

唐朝的时候有个读书人，叫淳于棼，他家院墙边长着株古槐。有一天他心情烦闷,喝醉了酒，不知不觉靠在古槐树下睡着了，朦胧中来了两位使臣，邀请淳于棼到大槐安国做客，淳于棼随使臣出门登车，一会儿就来到了王宫里。皇上见淳于棼生的一表人才，谈吐不凡，把公主许配给他，婚后小两口生活得十分美满。

不久淳于棼被皇帝派到南柯任太守，他到了南柯后勤政爱民，很受百姓拥戴。有一年檀萝国突然入侵，打的槐安国溃不成军，皇帝下令淳于棼带兵出征，淳于棼不懂军事，匆匆应战，被打得打败而逃，皇帝大怒，撤掉了他的官职。没多久，妻子也因病去世了。他穷困潦倒，连家里的狗也不认识他了，冲他直叫。

他忽然惊醒，原来是一场梦，他觉得很奇怪，看到古槐树下有个大蚁穴，蚁穴里有蚂蚁王，有凝土堆成的楼阁，小城，淳于棼长叹一声：几年的荣华富贵，原来是柯南一梦啊。

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar named Chun Yufen. Under his courtyard wall, there was a plant Guhuai. One day, he was unhappy and fell asleep under the plant after getting drunk. Dimly, two envoys came over him and invited him to be a guest at the kingdom of Da Huan An. Chun Yufen got on the carriage and after a while arrived at the Palace of the kingdom. The king saw that Chun Yufen was talented and his speech and manner were refined and decided to marry him the princess. After getting married, Chun Yufen lived a very happy life with the princess.

Before long, Chun Yufen was sent to Nan Ke to be a governor. There, he was worried about people's life and the state affairs all day and he was loved by his people. One day, the country of Tan Luo invaded and the army of Da Huai An was defeated, and the withdrawal turned into a rout. The King gave orders and let Chun Yufen led his army to fight against the enemy. Because Chun Yufen knew nothing about military, he defended hastily and fled after being defeated. The king got so angry that he dismissed Chun Yufen from his post. Before too long, his wife died because of sickness. He was so badly off that even his dog couldn’t recognize him and barked at him.

Suddenly, Chun Yufen recovered and realized it was just a dream. He had a strange feeling and found a big ant cave under the plant Guhuai, in which there was the king of the ants. The ant cave was like a pavilion, a small town. Chun Yufen heaved a long sigh: Years of glory and wealth turned out to be a dream in Nanke.

Chinese idiom 南柯一梦 literally means "A Dream in Nanke". The story is a metaphor for an empty dream, an illusory joy.

e.g.

tā yǐwéi zìjǐ zhōnɡle wǔbǎiwàn dàjiǎnɡ, hòulái què fāxiàn shì nánkēyímènɡ.

他 以为 自己 中了 五百万 大奖，后来 却 发现 是 南柯一梦。

He thought he had won a five-million lottery. Then he realized it was just a dream.

fùxí liǎnɡtiān jiù tōnɡɡuò hsk kǎoshì, duìwǒ láishuō jiùshì nánkēyímènɡ.

复习 两天 就 通过 HSK 考试，对我 来说 就是 南柯一梦。

It will be a dream for me to pass HSK exam after only two day’s review.

niánqīnɡrénmen xiǎnɡ pínɡjiè chǎoɡǔ yíyè bàofù, nǎlǐ zhīdào zhè zhǐshì nánkēyímènɡ.

年轻人们 想 凭借 炒股 一夜 暴富，哪里 知道 这 只是 南柯一梦。

Young people wish to be rich overnight by speculating in stocks, but never know that it will only be a dream.