礼崩乐坏 lǐ bēng yuè huài

DEFINITIONS

  1. rites and music are in ruins (idiom); fig. society in total disarray
  2. cf. 禮樂|礼乐[li3 yue4]

CHARACTERS

礼 lǐ
HSK 3
social custom; manners; courtesy
崩 bēng
HSK 6
rupture, split apart, collapse
乐 yuè
HSK 2
happy, glad; enjoyable; music
坏 huài
HSK 3
rotten, spoilt, bad, broken down