名落孫山

Etymology

A story during the Song dynasty:

吳人孫山，滑稽才子也。赴舉他郡，鄉人托以子偕往。鄉人子失意，山綴榜末。先歸，鄉人問其子得失，山曰：「解名盡處是孫山，賢郎更在孫山外。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.][▼ expand/hide]
吴人孙山，滑稽才子也。赴举他郡，乡人托以子偕往。乡人子失意，山缀榜末。先归，乡人问其子得失，山曰：“解名尽处是孙山，贤郎更在孙山外。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Song dynasty, poet Fan Gongcheng (范公偁), 《過庭錄》

Wú rén Sūn Shān, huájī cáizǐ yě. Fù jǔ tā jùn, xiāngrén tuō yǐ zǐ xié wǎng. Xiāngrén zǐ shīyì, Shān zhuì bǎngmò. Xiān guī, xiāngrén wèn qí zǐ déshī, Shān yuē: “Jièmíng jìnchù shì Sūn Shān, xiánláng gèng zài Sūn Shān wài.” [Pinyin]

Sun Shan, a talented and humorous scholar from the Wu region, went to a different prefecture for the imperial examination. A fellow villager sent his son to go with Sun for the exam. When exam results were announced, the son of the fellow villager failed to make it in the list of successful candidates, while Sun Shan was the last name on the list. When they returned, the villager asked Sun how his son had performed, and Sun replied with a poem:
　My humble name appeared at the bottom of the list of successful candidates,
　While your dear son ranked behind me.

Pronunciation

Idiom

名落孫山

1. (figuratively) to fail an exam; to fall behind (in a competition)