📖 Meaning
This idiom describes someone whose power and influence are so overwhelming that they dominate everyone and everything beneath heaven. It is used to characterize a person or faction whose authority surpasses all rivals.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the 'Records of the Three Kingdoms' (三国志), in the biography of Yuan Shao in the Book of Wei. It notes that Yuan Shao's great-grandfather Yuan An served as Minister of Education (司徒) during the Han dynasty, and for four successive generations the Yuan family held the highest ministerial posts known as the Three Dukes. As a result, the family's power and prestige were said to 'tilt the empire,' illustrating how entrenched aristocratic authority could overshadow all others.
💡 Example Usage
袁氏一门四世三公，势倾天下，故能号召群雄。
The Yuan family held the three highest offices for four generations, their power dominating the empire, and thus they could rally the warlords.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 势倾天下
- Pinyin: shì qīng tiān xià
- Literal Translation: power, tilt, heaven, under
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4