鹤背扬州 — “A metaphor for an intense desire for wealth and official position”

鹤背扬州 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a metaphor for an intense desire for wealth and official position”. Often implying an opportunistic or overly ambitious mindset. Literally, “On a crane's back to Yangzhou”.

Frequency

鹤背扬州 Pronunciation and Pinyin

鹤背扬州 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
鹤	hè	15	crane bird
背	bèi	9	back, carry, recite, violate
扬	yáng	6	raise, praise, or scatter
州	zhōu	6	ancient administrative division

Example Sentence with 鹤背扬州

他从小就梦想着有一天能有所成就，但也要警惕不要只怀有鹤背扬州的念头。

From a young age, he dreamed of achieving success one day, but he also needed to be cautious not to harbor only a 'crane's back to Yangzhou' mentality.

Origin and Story of 鹤背扬州

According to legend, four young masters – Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li – were once drinking by the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, discussing their aspirations.

Young Master Zhao expressed his fortune in making friends and hoped to become the Prefect of Yangzhou someday.

Young Master Sun, on the other hand, dreamed of riding a red-crowned, white-feathered celestial crane to a heavenly palace to spend his remaining years.

Young Master Li, with a grand vision, declared that he wanted to have 'ten million strings of cash tied around his waist' and then ride a crane to Yangzhou to assume an official post.

Hearing this, the others playfully teased him, remarking that he was 'too impatient to drink hot porridge,' implying his desire for wealth and high position was excessively eager and immediate.