Meaning:
“风” means “wind,” “树” means “tree,” “之” indicates that the characters appearing before it modify those coming after it, and “悲” means “grief.” This Chinese idiom originated from the story of Gao Yu of the kingdom of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and refers to the grief of losing one’s parent(s). Gao was sobbing hard as Confucius passed by. Asked why, Gao told Confucius, “The tree wants to stand still but the wind blows; I want to care for my parents but they have passed away,” regretting that he had left home to travel around in his early years. This idiom became a hot search online after the exam to recruit civil servants in eastern Jiangsu Province asked applicants to explain the meaning of it.
Example:
A: 老李最近情绪低落，发生了什么事情吗？
Lǎolǐ zuìjìn qíngxù dīluò，fāshēng le shénme shìqíng ma？
Lao Li has been in low spirits lately. What’s up?
B: 他是感念风树之悲。
Tā shì gǎnniàn fēngshù zhībēi。
He’s grieving over the passing of his parents.