📖 Meaning
Literally meaning the clouds have cleared and the sky is empty and bright. It is a metaphor for handling a matter cleanly and decisively, leaving no loose ends or traces behind. It conveys a sense of thorough resolution and the relief that follows.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the Qing dynasty novel 'Ernü Yingxiong Zhuan' (The Tale of Heroic Sons and Daughters) by Wen Kang. In chapter seventeen, a character reflects on having settled a complicated affair completely and to his satisfaction. He feels the deed was done as decisively as seas drying and rocks rotting, and as cleanly as clouds clearing from an empty sky. The passage praises the thoroughness and liberation of finishing something without leaving any aftermath.
💡 Example Usage
这件事他处理得云净天空，没有留下任何后患。
He handled the matter so cleanly and decisively that no loose ends were left behind at all.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 云净天空
- Pinyin: yún jìng tiān kōng
- Literal Translation: clouds, clear, sky, empty
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4