till the end of time; for an eternity; as long as heaven and earth last
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, the poet Li He traveled to Chang'an to take the imperial examination. However, he was ridiculed and disqualified because his name shared a character with his father's given name, which was considered taboo.
Deeply distressed, he sought solace in wine at a tavern.
The tavern owner, seeing his sorrow, told him stories of Zufu Yan from the Western Han Dynasty and Ma Zhou from the Tang Dynasty. Inspired, Li He then spontaneously composed the poem 'Toasting Wine' ( 致酒行), which includes the lines: 'Zufu traveled west, troubled, and never returned; his family broke off the willow branches in front of their door. I heard that Ma Zhou, once a guest in Xinfeng, was unrecognized until heaven and earth grew old.'