抚今追昔
fǔ jīn zhuī xī
to look at the present and think back on the past
Character by character
抚fǔ
touch
touch
今jīn
present
present
追zhuī
trace back
trace back
昔xī
past
past
Example
站在重建后的老街上，抚今追昔，老人感慨万千。
Standing on the rebuilt old street and thinking back over the years, the old man was overcome with emotion.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Written and reflective, and it usually leads into a feeling: 抚今追昔，不禁感慨. 昔 is the past, as in 今非昔比 (lesson 4-10).
Learn this in Lesson 131 · HSK 7–9: 消失的老物件 (Things that disappeared)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →