📖 Meaning
A metaphor for an auspicious omen or favorable sign. 景星 (the bright star) is a star that appears during virtuous governance, while 庆云 refers to five-colored clouds taken as a sign of good fortune. Together they symbolize the blessings that Heaven bestows upon an enlightened age.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Ming dynasty scholar-official Fang Xiaoru (方孝孺, 1357–1402), written in his ode 《御书赞》 (Encomium on the Imperial Brushwork). The original line reads: 'Heaven does not speak, but reveals itself to people through signs—bestowing grace and shedding light, the bright star and the propitious cloud.' In classical Chinese cosmology, a 景星 was said to appear when a sage-emperor ruled with virtue, while 庆云 were five-colored clouds heralding peace and prosperity. Fang invoked these omens to glorify the imperial calligraphy as a token of divine favor. The phrase later became a literary set expression for any blessed or prosperous era.
💡 Example Usage
盛朝现景星庆云，群臣皆以为天下太平之兆。
In the prosperous reign there appeared the auspicious star and five-colored cloud, which the assembled ministers all took as an omen of peace throughout the realm.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 景星庆云
- Pinyin: jǐng xīng qìng yún
- Literal Translation: bright star, propitious cloud
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4