祸从天降 — “Calamity or misfortune strikes unexpectedly”
祸从天降 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Calamity or misfortune strikes unexpectedly”. An unforeseen disaster or adversity. Literally, “Calamity descends from heaven”.
祸从天降 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 祸huò
- 从cóng
- 天tiān
- 降jiàng
祸从天降 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 祸从天降
Origin and Story of 祸从天降
During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Yizong's beloved daughter, Princess Tongchang, passed away after failing to recover from an illness despite extensive medical treatment.
In his grief and anger, the emperor blamed the imperial physicians, particularly Han Zongzhao and Kang Zhongyin. He accused them of 'ineffective medication' and had them, along with over 300 members of their two families, imprisoned.
Liu Zhan, who served as both prime minister and vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, courageously submitted a memorial advising the emperor against such harsh punishment. He argued that the physicians had done their utmost.
The court and the public widely viewed this incident as a calamity striking from the heavens, punishing innocent people for no fault of their own. As a consequence of his remonstrance, Liu Zhan was demoted and exiled to serve as the prefect of Kangzhou.
Idioms Related to 祸从天降
Synonyms of 祸从天降
Antonyms of 祸从天降
More idioms starting with 祸
- huò祸bù不dān单xíng行misfortunes never come singly
- huò祸bù不fǎn反zhǒng踵Calamity strikes swiftly
- huò祸bù不wàng妄zhì至Misfortune does not come without a reason
- huò祸bù不xuán旋zhǒng踵disaster will arrive very soon
- huò祸yǔ与fú福lín邻Fortune and misfortune are neighbors
- huò祸zhōng中yǒu有fú福Blessing in disguise
- huò祸wéi为fú福xiān先misfortune precedes good fortune
- huò祸luàn乱jiāo交xīng兴disasters and chaos arise concurrently
- huò祸luàn乱tāo滔tiān天widespread devastation and turmoil
- huò祸luàn乱xiāng相xún寻calamities and chaos follow one another
- huò祸cóng从kǒu口chū出Trouble comes from careless speech
- huò祸cóng从kǒu口chū出，，huàn患cóng从kǒu口rù入Misfortune from speech, trouble from food
Questions about 祸从天降
- What does 祸从天降 mean?
- 祸从天降 (huò cóng tiān jiàng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Calamity or misfortune strikes unexpectedly”.
- How do you pronounce 祸从天降?
- 祸从天降 is pronounced huò cóng tiān jiàng in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 祸从天降 literally mean?
- Literally, 祸从天降 means “Calamity descends from heaven”. It is used to mean “Calamity or misfortune strikes unexpectedly”.
- Where does 祸从天降 come from?
- 祸从天降 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 祸从天降?
- 降：落下。比喻突然遭到了意外的灾祸。