Chinese Idiom: 青天白云 (Qing Tian Bai Yun)
English Translation: Blue sky and white clouds
pīn yīn: qīng tiān bái yún
Idiom Meaning: This idiom is used metaphorically to describe someone with noble character and high moral integrity, symbolizing purity and virtue.
Historical Source: Ming Dynasty poet Liu Ji’s poem Climbing Wolong Mountain and Writing My Thoughts (《登卧龙山写怀二十八韵》)
Idiom Story:
Liu Ji, also known as Liu Bowen, was a famous poet and statesman during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. Born in 1311 in Qingtian, Zhejiang, Liu passed the imperial exams during the Yuan dynasty and served in various official positions, including as the supervisor of Confucian learning in Zhejiang. However, due to political slander, he resigned from his post and lived in seclusion.
Later, Liu was recruited by Zhu Yuanzhang (later the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty) and played a pivotal role in helping him unify the country. Despite his contributions, there were periods when Liu felt unappreciated and frustrated by his lack of opportunities.
During one such time, Liu wrote the poem Climbing Wolong Mountain and Writing My Thoughts, expressing his deep frustration and longing for recognition. In the final lines of the poem, he wrote:
白云在青天，可望不可即。
浩歌梁甫吟，忧来凭胸臆。
The lines describe the poet’s feeling of seeing the “white clouds in the blue sky,” which he can only admire from afar but cannot reach, symbolizing his desire to serve a wise ruler. He compares his sorrow and ambitions to the high, unreachable clouds, expressing the inner turmoil of being full of talent yet lacking a platform to display it.
From this poem, the phrase “白云在青天” (white clouds in the blue sky) was extracted and evolved into the idiom “青天白云,” which came to represent the purity, nobility, and unattainability of high moral character.
