上窮碧落下黃泉
See also: 上穷碧落下黄泉
Chinese
up; on; on top up; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up |
exhausted; poor | sky; blue sky | under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (上窮碧落下黃泉) | 上 | 窮 | 碧落 | 下 | 黃泉 | |
| simp. (上穷碧落下黄泉) | 上 | 穷 | 碧落 | 下 | 黄泉 | |
| Literally: “(Searched) thoroughly up in the blue beyond (as well as) down in the Yellow Springs (below the earth).” | ||||||
Etymology
From the Song of Everlasting Regret in 806 CE, by poet Bai Juyi:
- 上窮碧落下黃泉，兩處茫茫皆不見。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: 806 CE, Bai Juyi, Song of Everlasting Regret
- Shàng qióng bìluò xià huángquán, liǎng chù mángmáng jiē bù jiàn. [Pinyin]
- The priest searched thoroughly up in the blue beyond, as well as down in the Yellow Springs below the earth, but did not spot her (Yang Guifei) in the vastness of either place.
上穷碧落下黄泉，两处茫茫皆不见。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Idiom
上窮碧落下黃泉
- to search high and low
- 乃見桂英披髮仗劍，指罵：「王魁負義漢，我上窮碧落下黃泉，尋汝不見，汝卻在此。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: Southern Song, 羅燁 (Luo Ye), 《醉翁談錄·卷二·王魁負心桂英死報》
- Nǎi jiàn Guìyīng pīfà zhàngjiàn, zhǐmà: “Wáng Kuí fùyìhàn, wǒ shàng qióng bìluò xià huángquán, xún rǔ bùjiàn, rǔ què zài cǐ.” [Pinyin]
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
乃见桂英披发仗剑，指骂：「王魁负义汉，我上穷碧落下黄泉，寻汝不见，汝却在此。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]- 我們不是讀書的人，我們只是上窮碧落下黃泉，動手動腳找東西。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 1928, Fu Ssu-nien, 《歷史語言研究所工作之旨趣》 [The Aims of Founding the Institute of History and Philology]
- Wǒmen bùshì dúshū de rén, wǒmen zhǐshì shàng qióng bìluò xià huángquán, dòngshǒudòngjiǎo zhǎo dōngxī. [Pinyin]
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
我们不是读书的人，我们只是上穷碧落下黄泉，动手动脚找东西。 [MSC, simp.]
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