沧海桑田 (cāng hǎi sāng tián) — (idiom) great changes in the world; the vicissitudes of life; time brings enormous change

Definition

A literary 成语 meaning 'great changes over time' — the sea itself becomes mulberry fields. Used to reflect on how drastically the world transforms; far more formal and poetic than everyday words for 'change'.

idiom
great changes in the worldthe vicissitudes of lifetime brings enormous change

Examples

  • ，沧海桑田，。
    Jǐ shí nián guò qù le, zhè lǐ zhēn shì cāng hǎi sāng tián, cóng yí gè xiǎo yú cūn biàn chéng le dà dū shì.
    Decades have passed, and this place has truly undergone great changes — from a small fishing village to a big city.
  • ，沧海桑田，。
    Dú lì shǐ shū shí, cháng ràng rén gǎn dào cāng hǎi sāng tián, wáng cháo xīng shuāi bú guò yí shùn jiān.
    When reading history books, one often feels the vicissitudes of time — the rise and fall of dynasties happen in an instant.
  • ：“沧海桑田，。”
    Lǎo rén gǎn tàn dào: "rén shēng cāng hǎi sāng tián, zhuǎn yǎn wǒ men dōu lǎo le."
    The old man sighed: 'Life is full of great changes; in the blink of an eye we've all grown old.'

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

沧海blue-green sea
沧cāngblue-green海hǎisea
偏正Modifier + head
桑田mulberry fields
桑sāngmulberry田tiánfield
偏正Modifier + head

沧海 (blue-green sea) and 桑田 (mulberry fields) are placed side by side to suggest enormous change.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滄; 沧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng滄cāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 滄 has 氵, a water sign, beside 倉, which gives the sound; the simplified 沧 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old 倉.

Open 沧 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

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

桑 is a picture of a mulberry tree, with its upper part drawn as the tree's foliage.

Open 桑 →

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

田 looks like a field divided into four sections.

Open 田 →

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