📖 Meaning
Literally 'a hundred years of good fortune,' this idiom refers specifically to marriage and the joyous occasion of a wedding. It conveys the traditional wish for a lifelong, harmonious union between husband and wife.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Ling Mengchu's 'Slapping the Table in Amazement, Second Collection' (二刻拍案惊奇), a celebrated Ming dynasty collection of vernacular short stories. In one tale, a young man pleads with a go-between named Longxiang to help arrange his marriage to her lady's elder sister, calling it a 'century-spanning good affair' of immense importance. Over time, the expression became a conventional euphemism for matrimonial celebrations throughout Chinese literature.
💡 Example Usage
今日你二人结为夫妻，成就一段百年好事，实乃天作之合。
Today the two of you become husband and wife, fulfilling a lifelong union truly made in heaven.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 百年好事
- Pinyin: bǎi nián hǎo shì
- Literal Translation: hundred, year, good, matter
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4