📖 Meaning
Like a vine bearing countless melons, large and small, in an unbroken chain. It is a metaphor for a flourishing family line with abundant descendants, and is used as a blessing to wish someone prosperity and continuity of their lineage across generations.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the poem 'Mian' (绵) in the 'Da Ya' (大雅) section of the Book of Songs (《诗经》), the oldest collection of Chinese poetry compiled during the Zhou dynasty. The poem describes the early history of the Zhou people, tracing their roots to the regions of Ju and Qi (沮漆). The opening line compares the endless propagation of the Zhou people to a vine of melons that stretches on continuously, bearing fruit both large and small. Over centuries, the phrase became a classic blessing for wishing a family abundant descendants and lasting prosperity.
💡 Example Usage
祝你们家族绵绵瓜瓞，世代昌盛。
May your family flourish like a continuous vine of melons, thriving for generations to come.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 绵绵瓜瓞
- Pinyin: mián mián guā dié
- Literal Translation: continuous, continuous, melon, small melon
- Category: Success
- Characters: 4