泰山鸿毛 — “Mount Tai and a swan's feather”
泰山鸿毛 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a comparison between things of vastly different significance or importance; implying a huge disparity in weight, value, or consequence”. Literally, “Mount Tai and a swan's feather”.
泰山鸿毛 Pronunciation and Pinyin
泰山鸿毛 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 泰山鸿毛
Origin and Story of 泰山鸿毛
During the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian, the Grand Historian, continued to compile 'Records of the Grand Historian' (Shiji) to fulfill his father's dying wish.
He was subjected to the severe punishment of castration due to his involvement in the Li Ling incident. Enduring immense pain and humiliation, he steadfastly persevered and finally completed the monumental historical work, 'Records of the Grand Historian,' in 91 BC.
In a letter to his friend Ren An, he famously wrote about his view on death: 'All men must die, but death may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather.'
Idioms Related to 泰山鸿毛
More idioms starting with 泰
- tài泰shān山bù不ràng让tǔ土rǎng壤Embrace all to achieve greatness
- tài泰shān山bù不ràng让tǔ土rǎng壤，，gù故néng能chéng成qí其dà大Greatness comes from embracing all
- tài泰shān山bù不ràng让tǔ土rǎng壤，，gù故néng能chéng成qí其gāo高Greatness comes from embracing all contributions
- tài泰shān山bù不cí辞tǔ土rǎng壤，，gù故néng能chéng成qí其gāo高Greatness embraces all, even the smallest
- tài泰shān山zhī之ān安utterly secure and unshakable
- tài泰shān山qí其tuí颓death of a highly respected person
- tài泰shān山běi北dǒu斗a revered person of great distinction
- tài泰shān山yā压luǎn卵Overwhelming force crushes weak opponent
- tài泰shān山yā压dǐng顶immense pressure or crushing blow
- tài泰shān山kě可yǐ倚to have a powerful and reliable backing
- tài泰shān山liáng梁mù木death of a great person
- tài泰shān山pán盘shí石rock-solid and unshakable
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →Questions about 泰山鸿毛
What does 泰山鸿毛 mean?
泰山鸿毛 (tài shān hóng máo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a comparison between things of vastly different significance or importance; implying a huge disparity in weight, value, or consequence”.
How do you pronounce 泰山鸿毛?
泰山鸿毛 is pronounced tài shān hóng máo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 泰山鸿毛 literally mean?
Literally, 泰山鸿毛 means “Mount Tai and a swan's feather”. It is used to mean “a comparison between things of vastly different significance or importance; implying a huge disparity in weight, value, or consequence”.
Where does 泰山鸿毛 come from?
泰山鸿毛 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 泰山鸿毛?
比喻轻重相差极大。