📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a person's good reputation being handed down forever through the ages. It conveys the idea that one's name and deeds become immortal, remembered by generations to come. It is typically used to praise individuals whose contributions are so significant that history cannot forget them.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Yu Qiuyu's prose collection 'Cultural Journey' (文化苦旅), specifically in the essay 'Five Cities Record' (五城记), where the author reflects on the historical legacy of Nanjing. Yu writes that the splendor of the Six Dynasties (六朝) alone would be enough to make the city's name endure through the ages, to say nothing of the political upheavals of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the blood and fire of the modern and contemporary eras. The expression draws on the imagery of a name 'hanging down' (垂) across 'a thousand antiquities' (千古), evoking eternal remembrance.
💡 Example Usage
他用一生写成的这部历史著作名垂千古，被后人反复研读。
The historical work he devoted his life to writing has achieved lasting fame, studied again and again by later generations.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 名垂千古
- Pinyin: míng chuí qiān gǔ
- Literal Translation: name, hang down, thousand, antiquity
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4