蚍蜉撼树 — “An ant trying to shake a great tree”
蚍蜉撼树 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an ant trying to shake a great tree”. A futile attempt to challenge something overwhelmingly powerful, indicating an overestimation of one's own capabilities. Literally, “Ant shaking a tree”.
蚍蜉撼树 Pronunciation and Pinyin
蚍蜉撼树 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 蚍蜉撼树
Origin and Story of 蚍蜉撼树
During the Tang Dynasty, not long after the deaths of the great poets Li Bai and Du Fu, some people began to malign and discredit their literary works. Han Yu was deeply displeased by this behavior.
He wrote a poem titled 'To Zhang Ji' (调张籍) to his friend, which included the lines: 'Li and Du's writings endure, their brilliance shines ten thousand feet high. How ignorant are these youngsters, why bother to hurt them with false slander? An ant trying to shake a great tree, laughable in their overestimation of themselves.'
Zhang Ji agreed with Han Yu's perspective, acknowledging the futility of such misguided criticism.
Idioms Related to 蚍蜉撼树
Synonyms of 蚍蜉撼树
Antonyms of 蚍蜉撼树
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Open the tool →Questions about 蚍蜉撼树
What does 蚍蜉撼树 mean?
蚍蜉撼树 (pí fú hàn shù) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an ant trying to shake a great tree”.
How do you pronounce 蚍蜉撼树?
蚍蜉撼树 is pronounced pí fú hàn shù in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 蚍蜉撼树 literally mean?
Literally, 蚍蜉撼树 means “Ant shaking a tree”. It is used to mean “an ant trying to shake a great tree”.
Where does 蚍蜉撼树 come from?
蚍蜉撼树 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 蚍蜉撼树?
蚂蚁想摇动大树。比喻自不量力。