📖 Meaning
A metaphor for a cataclysmic event or earth-shattering upheaval that overturns the established order. It also describes an overwhelmingly loud, thunderous sound, as if the sky itself were crashing down.
📜 Origin Story
The specific origin of this idiom is not recorded in classical sources. It is a variant of the older idiom 天崩地坼 (tiān bēng dì chè), which first appears in the Strategies of the Warring States (战国策·赵策三), where it describes the collapse of heaven and the splitting of the earth as a metaphor for a monumental disaster. Over time, 解 (to split or come apart) replaced 坼 (to crack open) in certain regional or literary traditions, giving rise to the synonymous form 天崩地解.
💡 Example Usage
这个消息传来，整个朝廷如同天崩地解一般震动。
When the news arrived, the entire court was shaken as if heaven had collapsed and the earth had split apart.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 天崩地解
- Pinyin: tiān bēng dì jiě
- Literal Translation: heaven collapses, earth splits apart
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4