📖 Meaning
In ancient Chinese myth, a three-legged golden crow dwelt in the sun and a jade rabbit in the moon. The idiom uses these two celestial symbols to describe time flying by swiftly and relentlessly.
📜 Origin Story
The sun was called the 'golden crow' (金乌) after the legend that a three-legged crow lived within it, while the moon was called the 'jade rabbit' (玉兔) from the tale of a rabbit dwelling there. The phrase appears in Tang poetry, notably Han Cong's 'Spring Sorrow' (韩琮《春愁》): 'The golden crow flies on, the jade rabbit runs.' Wei Zhuang's 'Early Journey on an Autumn Day' (韦庄《秋日早行》) also uses it to lament how swiftly the years slip away.
💡 Example Usage
乌飞兔走，转眼间十年已过，少年已生华发。
Time flew like the crow and the rabbit; in the blink of an eye ten years had passed, and the youth had grown grey-haired.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 乌飞兔走
- Pinyin: wū fēi tù zǒu
- Literal Translation: crow flies, rabbit runs
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4