📖 Meaning
The idiom describes extreme height, as if one could pass through the Well star mansion (one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions in Chinese astronomy) and touch the sky with one's hand. It vividly conveys the sense of reaching up to the heavens. The phrase is used to depict towering, sky-scraping elevation.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Ode on Choosing a Dwelling' (卜居赋) by Su Zhe of the Northern Song dynasty. In the passage, Su Zhe recounts his sons accompanying him on his travels, writing 'my sons see me off, passing the Well and touching the sky; you do not forget me, I do not forget our forebears.' The Well (井) refers to the Well mansion (井宿), one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions of traditional Chinese astronomy. The image of reaching past the stars to brush the heavens symbolizes extraordinary, towering height.
💡 Example Usage
这座摩天大楼高耸入云，令人有历井扪天之感。
This skyscraper towers into the clouds, giving one the feeling of passing the stars and touching the sky.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 历井扪天
- Pinyin: lì jǐng mén tiān
- Literal Translation: pass through, Well mansion, touch, sky
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4