天荒地老 — “Till the end of time”
天荒地老 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “till the end of time”. For an eternity; as long as heaven and earth last. Literally, “Heaven desolate, Earth old”.
天荒地老 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 天tiān
- 荒huāng
- 地dì
- 老lǎo
天荒地老 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 天荒地老
Origin and Story of 天荒地老
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.'
Idioms Related to 天荒地老
Synonyms of 天荒地老
More idioms starting with 天
- tiān天shàng上rén人jiān间worlds apart
- tiān天shàng上dì地xià下，，wéi惟wǒ我dú独zūn尊supremely arrogant and self-important
- tiān天shàng上tiān天xià下，，wéi惟wǒ我dú独zūn尊Arrogant and self-important
- tiān天shàng上shǎo少yǒu有，，dì地xià下nán难xún寻extremely rare, unique
- tiān天shàng上shí石lín麟a brilliant and talented son
- tiān天shàng上qí麒lín麟praise a son's exceptional talent
- tiān天xià下yī一jiā家universal brotherhood and harmony
- tiān天xià下wèi为yī一The world united
- tiān天xià下wéi为gōng公The world belongs to everyone
- tiān天xià下wéi为jiā家To make the world one's home
- tiān天xià下wéi为lóng笼the world is a confining cage
- tiān天xià下wū乌yā鸦yī一bān般hēi黑all evil is the same everywhere
Questions about 天荒地老
- What does 天荒地老 mean?
- 天荒地老 (tiān huāng dì lǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “till the end of time”.
- How do you pronounce 天荒地老?
- 天荒地老 is pronounced tiān huāng dì lǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 天荒地老 literally mean?
- Literally, 天荒地老 means “Heaven desolate, Earth old”. It is used to mean “till the end of time”.
- Where does 天荒地老 come from?
- 天荒地老 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 天荒地老?
- 指经历的时间极久。