平步青云 — “To rise rapidly in position or status”
平步青云 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to rise rapidly in position or status”. To have a meteoric rise in one's career; to be promoted to a high position very quickly. Literally, “Smoothly stepping onto the blue clouds”.
平步青云 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 平píng
- 步bù
- 青qīng
- 云yún
平步青云 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 平步青云
Origin and Story of 平步青云
During the Warring States period, there was a talented man named Fan Sui in the State of Wei. Initially, he was not valued by the King of Wei, so he sought refuge under Prime Minister Xu Jia.
One day, Fan Sui accompanied Xu Jia on an envoy mission to the State of Qi. The King of Qi greatly admired Fan Sui's talent and secretly offered him many gold and silver treasures. Upon returning to Wei, Xu Jia slandered Fan Sui before the King of Wei, saying, "The King of Qi gave gifts to Fan Sui, perhaps intending to make him a spy!" The confused King of Wei, without investigation, had Fan Sui severely beaten and imprisoned him in the prime minister's latrine.
Fortunately, a compassionate servant secretly rescued him and hid him in his friend Zheng Anping's home. By chance, Fan Sui was taken to the State of Qin, where he changed his name to Zhang Lu, and eventually became the Prime Minister of Qin.
To seek revenge, Fan Sui strongly advocated for attacking the State of Wei. Frightened, Wei immediately sent Xu Jia to Qin to negotiate for peace. As soon as Xu Jia entered the prime minister's residence, he discovered that the prime minister was none other than Fan Sui. He immediately knelt down, kowtowed, and said, "I never imagined that with your own strength, you could smoothly step onto the blue clouds and become the Prime Minister of Qin. For any offenses I may have caused in the past, I humbly ask for your leniency now!"
Idioms Related to 平步青云
Synonyms of 平步青云
Antonyms of 平步青云
More idioms starting with 平
- píng平fēn分qiū秋sè色equally matched; share honors
- píng平yuán原shí十rì日yǐn饮a grand and prolonged banquet
- píng平yuán原yì易yě野flat and open plains or wilderness
- píng平yuán原dū督yóu邮inferior or low-quality wine
- píng平dì地yī一shēng声léi雷sudden significant event or rise to prominence
- píng平dì地lóu楼tái台build a magnificent enterprise from scratch
- píng平dì地bō波lán澜unexpected disturbance
- píng平dì地shēng生bō波stir up trouble out of nothing
- píng平dì地dēng登yún云meteoric rise from humble beginnings
- píng平dì地qǐ起gū孤dīng丁stir up trouble out of nothing
- píng平dì地qǐ起jiā家build a career from scratch
- píng平dì地qǐ起léi雷a sudden dramatic change
Questions about 平步青云
- What does 平步青云 mean?
- 平步青云 (píng bù qīng yún) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to rise rapidly in position or status”.
- How do you pronounce 平步青云?
- 平步青云 is pronounced píng bù qīng yún in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 平步青云 literally mean?
- Literally, 平步青云 means “Smoothly stepping onto the blue clouds”. It is used to mean “to rise rapidly in position or status”.
- Where does 平步青云 come from?
- 平步青云 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 平步青云?
- 平：平稳；步：行走；青云：高空。指人一下子升到很高的地位上去。