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飞天 (fēi tiān) — flying Apsaras (Buddhist celestial beings, often depicted in Chinese art)

Definition

飞天 (fēitiān) literally means 'flying in the sky' but names a specific Buddhist art motif: celestial Apsaras, usually female figures painted on cave walls or ceilings (most famously at Dunhuang).

noun
flying Apsaras (Buddhist celestial beings, often depicted in Chinese art)

Examples

  • 煌飞天。
    Dūn huáng bì huà zhōng yǒu hěn duō měi lì de fēi tiān.
    There are many beautiful flying Apsaras in the Dunhuang murals.
  • 飞天。
    Zhè xiē fēi tiān de zī tài fēi cháng yōu měi.
    The postures of these flying Apsaras are very graceful.
  • 飞天。
    Fó jiào yì shù zhōng de fēi tiān dài biǎo le zì yóu yǔ huān lè.
    The flying Apsaras in Buddhist art represent freedom and joy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

飞fēiflying
天tiānheavenly being

The 'flying' sense and 'heavenly being' sense together name a celestial being that flies.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →
Appears in
Art & Fine ArtsMythology & Folklore

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