📖 Meaning
Literally "parents who give one a second birth," this idiom refers to someone who has done a person an immense favor, most often a lifesaving benefactor. It expresses the idea that such a person's kindness is so great it rivals that of one's own parents, essentially granting the recipient a new life.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in the Yuan dynasty play "Journey to the West" (《西游记》) by the playwright Yang Jingxian, specifically in Act 4, Scene 15, where it reads "重生父母，再长爹娘" (reborn parents, renewed father and mother). The expression draws on the concept of gratitude so profound that the benefactor is elevated to the status of one's own parents. It later became a standard expression in classical literature for describing saviors, and was also used by the Ming dynasty writer Feng Menglong in his collection "Stories to Awaken the World" (《警世通言》, Volume 25), cementing its place in the Chinese idiom canon.
💡 Example Usage
他救了我一命，真是我的重生父母。
He saved my life; he is truly my second parents.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 重生父母
- Pinyin: chóng shēng fù mǔ
- Literal Translation: anew, born, father, mother
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4