📖 Meaning
A metaphor for striving vigorously to achieve great things. It describes a person of grand ambition who acts with dynamic, powerful energy, charging forward boldly in their undertakings. The imagery of a dragon gliding through the sky and a tiger springing forward conveys unstoppable enterprise and vitality.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from a preface written by Ye Fan of the Ming dynasty to the collection 《写情集》(Xie Qing Ji). Praising the subject's extraordinary bearing and towering ambitions, the preface argues that a person with such world-covering stature and a heart devoted to state affairs would inevitably pour forth myriad marvelous forms of expression, 'soaring like a dragon and leaping like a tiger.' The phrase thus captures the ideal of a vigorous, enterprising spirit bursting into action.
💡 Example Usage
新时代青年当龙翔虎跃，奋发有为，建功立业。
The youth of the new era should soar like dragons and leap like tigers, striving vigorously to make their mark.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 龙翔虎跃
- Pinyin: lóng xiáng hǔ yuè
- Literal Translation: dragon soaring, tiger leaping
- Category: Determination
- Characters: 4