📖 Meaning
In ancient China, when a boy was born, an archer would shoot arrows made from a mulberry-wood bow and grass stems toward heaven, earth, and the four cardinal directions. The ritual symbolized the wish that the boy would grow up with far-reaching ambition and achieve great things in the world.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Book of Rites (礼记·内则), a Confucian classic compiled during the Zhou dynasty. The text describes an ancient birth ceremony in which, upon the birth of a son, an archer shot six arrows from a mulberry-wood bow and grass-stem arrows at heaven, earth, and the four directions. This expressed the hope that the boy would carry lofty ambitions and roam the world to accomplish great deeds. The ritual reflects the early Chinese emphasis on instilling aspiration from the very moment of birth.
💡 Example Usage
他自幼胸怀大志，正如桑弧蓬矢，立志走遍四方建功立业。
From a young age he harbored great ambitions; like the mulberry bow and grass arrow, he was determined to travel far and wide to build a career.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 桑弧蓬矢
- Pinyin: sāng hú péng shǐ
- Literal Translation: mulberry bow, grass arrow
- Category: Determination
- Characters: 4