📖 Meaning
A legendary reference to a painted dragon breaking through a wall and flying away once its eyes were dotted. It is used metaphorically to describe a person whose status, wealth, or official rank suddenly soars to great heights.
📜 Origin Story
During the Liang dynasty, the renowned painter Zhang Sengyou painted four white dragons on the wall of Anle Temple in Jinling but left them without eyes, claiming they would fly away if dotted. People thought this absurd and urged him to dot the eyes. Soon after, thunder and lightning cracked the wall, and two dragons mounted the clouds and ascended to heaven, while the two without eyes remained on the wall. The story is recorded in Tang dynasty Zhang Yanyuan's 'Lidai Minghua Ji' (Records of Famous Painters of All Dynasties).
💡 Example Usage
他这几年破壁飞去，从一个普通职员一跃成为公司总裁。
In recent years he broke through the wall and flew away, rising from an ordinary clerk to the company's CEO.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 破壁飞去
- Pinyin: pò bì fēi qù
- Literal Translation: break, wall, fly, away
- Category: Success
- Characters: 4