📖 Meaning
Beacon fires rising to fill the sky. It is a metaphor for war and warfare spreading across the land. The idiom describes a situation where conflict has engulfed many regions at once.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a memorial by the Han dynasty scholar Cai Yong, recorded in his collected works. During that period, the Xianbei people repeatedly invaded the border commanderies of Yunzhong and Wuyuan. Within a single month, the border beacon fires never ceased and the dust they raised reached the sky. The imagery of unbroken beacon fires reaching the heavens came to symbolize widespread warfare.
💡 Example Usage
连天烽火中，百姓流离失所，苦不堪言。
Amid beacon fires reaching the sky, the common people were driven from their homes and suffered beyond words.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 连天烽火
- Pinyin: lián tiān fēng huǒ
- Literal Translation: reaching the sky, beacon fires
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4