📖 Meaning
An opportunity that comes only once in a thousand years. Describes a chance that is extremely rare and precious. Used to emphasize how unrepeatable and hard to come by such a moment is.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from a memorial by Wang Xizhi of the Jin dynasty, titled '与会稽王笺' (Memorial to the Prince of Kuaiji). In it he wrote of encountering the fortune of 'once in a thousand years,' while lamenting that his strength and wisdom fell short of the moment. The expression has since come to signify an extraordinarily rare opportunity. It was later echoed by Qing-dynasty thinkers such as Gong Zizhen, who used it to urge sweeping reform under a decisive sovereign.
💡 Example Usage
这是一个千载一时的好机会，我们必须把握住。
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we must seize it.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 千载一时
- Pinyin: qiān zǎi yī shí
- Literal Translation: thousand, years, one, time
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4