📖 Meaning
To cry out to heaven and strike the ground with one's head. It describes a state of extreme grief and despair. An equivalent of the more common idiom 呼天抢地.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Ming Dynasty vernacular story collection 'Jingshi Tongyan' (警世通言) by Feng Menglong, specifically the tale 'Su Xiang Ting Zhang Hao Yu Yingying' (宿香亭张浩遇莺莺). In the story, a woman named Yingying laments that Zhang Hao has broken his promise to her, leaving her crying out to heaven and striking the ground with nowhere to turn for help.
💡 Example Usage
听闻丈夫意外身亡的噩耗，她呼天叩地，悲痛欲绝。
Upon hearing the devastating news of her husband's accidental death, she cried out to heaven and struck the ground in utter grief.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 呼天叩地
- Pinyin: hū tiān kòu dì
- Literal Translation: call, heaven, knock, earth
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4