树倒猢狲散

Traditional form:

樹倒猢猻散

Pinyin (reading):

shùdǎohúsūnsàn

Definitions:

• When the tree topples the monkeys scatter. (idiom); fig. an opportunist abandons an unfavorable cause
• Rats leave a sinking ship.

Characters:

• 树 - tree; to plant; to set up, to establish
• 倒 - to collapse, to fall over; to lie down
• 猢 - a kind of monkey found in western China
• 狲 - monkey
• 散 - to scatter, to disperse, to break up

Traditional characters:

• 樹 - tree; to plant; to set up, to establish
• 倒 - to collapse, to fall over; to lie down
• 猢 - a kind of monkey found in western China
• 猻 - monkey
• 散 - to scatter, to disperse, to break up