📖 Meaning
A Daoist metaphor referring to a magical, carefree immortal world hidden inside a gourd or pot. It describes a realm of freedom and transcendence beyond worldly concerns, untouched by the passage of time. The idiom evokes the Daoist ideal of living in one's own self-contained universe, aloof from secular affairs.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from Ming dynasty playwright Zhu Youdun's play 'Shenxian Hui' (Immortals' Gathering), Act One. In the play, a Daoist priest of Mount Luofu lives a simple life wearing grass clothes and eating wild fruit, disdaining the power of feudal lords. He pays no attention to the passage of years in the mortal world, finding complete freedom within the 'universe inside his gourd.' The expression draws on Daoist legends of immortals who carried magical gourds containing vast, self-contained worlds. It is closely related to the synonymous idiom '壶中日月' (sun and moon in a gourd).
💡 Example Usage
他辞官归隐山林，过着壶里乾坤般的自在生活。
He resigned from his official post and retired to the mountains, living a free and carefree life like a world unto himself.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 壶里乾坤
- Pinyin: hú lǐ qián kūn
- Literal Translation: pot, inside, heaven, earth
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4