天崩地坼 — “Describes a catastrophic event or profound upheaval”

天崩地坼 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes a catastrophic event or profound upheaval”. Often referring to a world-shattering change or an overwhelming, deafening sound. Literally, “sky collapses and earth cracks open”.

Frequency

天崩地坼 Pronunciation and Pinyin

天崩地坼 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
天	tiān	4	sky, heaven, day, nature
崩	bēng	11	collapse, crumble, or burst
地	dì	6	earth, ground, land, place
坼	chè	8	to crack open, split, or chap

Example Sentence with 天崩地坼

山洪爆发时，巨大的轰鸣声和地动山摇的景象，让人感觉仿佛天崩地坼一般。

When the mountain torrents erupted, the immense roar and the earth-shaking scene made it feel as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was cracking open.

Origin and Story of 天崩地坼

During the reign of King Lie of Zhou, the power of the feudal lords grew increasingly strong, completely disregarding the imperial court. Only King Wei of Qi took the lead in paying homage, earning a good reputation as a 'benevolent and righteous scholar.'

When King Lie of Zhou passed away, King Wei of Qi was not among the first to offer condolences.

The newly enthroned emperor sent an envoy to Qi to deliver an imperial decree, stating, 'The passing of the late king is an event like the sky collapsing and the earth cracking open. What crime have you committed by arriving so late?'