直上青云 — “To have a meteoric rise”

直上青云 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a meteoric rise”. To quickly ascend to a high position, especially in one's career or officialdom. Literally, “Rise straight to the blue clouds”.

Frequency

直上青云 Pronunciation and Pinyin

直上青云 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
直	zhí	8	straight, direct, honest
上	shàng	3	up, above, on, previous, ascend
青	qīng	8	green, blue, or young
云	yún	4	cloud, say, or Yunnan

Example Sentence with 直上青云

他凭借出色的能力和勤奋努力，很快便直上青云，成为了部门的负责人。

With his outstanding ability and diligent effort, he quickly had a meteoric rise and became the head of the department.

Origin and Story of 直上青云

Fan Sui accompanied Xu Jia, a high official from the State of Wei, on a diplomatic mission to the State of Qi. Xu Jia suspected him of colluding with Qi and reported it to the Wei prime minister upon their return. Fan Sui was unjustly beaten and injured.

He changed his name to Zhang Lu, fled to the State of Qin, and quickly rose to become its prime minister.

Later, when Xu Jia visited Qin as an envoy, Fan Sui disguised himself as a poor man to meet him. Seeing his impoverished state, Xu Jia offered him a robe made of thick silk. However, when Xu Jia discovered that this poor man was actually the Qin prime minister, he was terrified and repeatedly apologized. Fan Sui did not kill him.