📖 Meaning
Literally describing a swift horse covering a thousand li in a single day, this idiom now metaphorically refers to extremely rapid progress or development. It emphasizes how fast something improves, grows, or advances in a very short span of time.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom first appears in Zhuangzi's 'Autumn Floods' (《庄子·秋水》) from the Warring States period, which compares fine horses such as 骐骥 and 骅骝 to galloping a thousand li in a day. It is also cited in Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian', Biographies of Assassins (《史记·刺客列传》) of the Western Han dynasty, where the saying notes that a strong swift horse can cover a thousand li in a day, yet when it grows old even a slow nag overtakes it. Over time the image of the flying horse was borrowed to describe any endeavor advancing with extraordinary speed.
💡 Example Usage
随着科技的进步，我国航天事业发展一日千里。
With the advancement of science and technology, China's aerospace industry is developing at a remarkable pace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一日千里
- Pinyin: yī rì qiān lǐ
- Literal Translation: one day, thousand li
- Category: Success
- Characters: 4