📖 Meaning
A metaphor for enduring vitality and prosperity that never fades. It describes something—often a person's health, a family's fortune, or a noble spirit—that remains vigorous and thriving across time, just as pine and cypress trees stay green through all seasons.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the poem 'Tianbao' (天保) in the 'Xiaoya' (小雅) section of the 'Book of Songs' (诗经), the oldest collection of Chinese poetry dating to the Western Zhou dynasty. The poem is a blessing offered to a ruler, and the line '如松柏之茂，无不尔或承' expresses the wish that, like the flourishing of pines and cypresses, the ruler's prosperity and posterity would be unbroken and everlasting. Over time, the phrase was extracted as a standalone idiom to praise anything that possesses lasting, evergreen vitality.
💡 Example Usage
祝您老人家松柏之茂，福寿绵长。
Wishing you, venerable elder, the flourishing vigor of pine and cypress—may your blessings and longevity endure forever.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 松柏之茂
- Pinyin: sōng bǎi zhī mào
- Literal Translation: pine, cypress, of, flourishing
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4