Chinese Idiom: 天涯海角 (Tian Ya Hai Jiao)
English Translation: The Ends of the Earth and the Corners of the Sea
pīn yīn: tiān yá hǎi jiǎo
Idiom Meaning: This idiom is used to describe a place that is extremely distant or remote.
Historical Source: Han Yu’s (韩愈) essay “The Lament for My Nephew” (《祭十二郎文》) from the Tang Dynasty.
Idiom Story
The story behind this idiom comes from Han Yu’s essay “The Lament for My Nephew.” Han Yu, a renowned Tang Dynasty writer, lost his father when he was just two years old, and his mother passed away soon after. As a child, he was raised by his elder brother, Han Hui, and his sister-in-law, Lady Zheng. Han Hui had an adopted son, Han Cheng (known as Twelve Lang due to his rank as the twelfth nephew), who was younger than Han Yu.
When Han Hui was 42 years old, he was demoted to the position of governor of Shaozhou (present-day Shaoguan, Guangdong) due to a political scandal involving the prime minister Yuan Zai. Han Hui fell ill and died shortly after his demotion, leaving Han Yu and Twelve Lang alone and dependent on each other for survival.
Despite having three elder brothers, Han Yu lost them all at a young age, leaving him and his nephew Twelve Lang as the only surviving members of their family lineage. They grew up together, inseparable, sharing their hardships.
At the age of 19, Han Yu left Xuanzhou (present-day Xuancheng, Anhui) for the capital. Over the next decade, he only saw Twelve Lang three times. When Han Yu finally planned to return home and live permanently with his nephew, tragedy struck: Twelve Lang passed away.
Overwhelmed with grief, Han Yu wrote “The Lament for My Nephew,” a heart-wrenching essay, and instructed his servant Jianzhong to gather some items and travel a great distance to perform the funeral rites. This essay is known for its deep sorrow and touching language, with every word resonating with Han Yu’s pain.
The essay contains the line, “One is at the ends of the earth, one is at the corners of the sea” (一在天之涯，一在地之角), illustrating the vast separation between the living and the deceased. Over time, this line was condensed into the idiom 天涯海角 (tiān yá hǎi jiǎo) to signify extremely remote places.
