諺語 · a single proverb
鵬程萬里
Simplified: 鹏程万里
What does 鵬程萬里 (péng chéng wàn lǐ) mean?
鵬程萬里 (péng chéng wàn lǐ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "the Peng bird's journey of ten thousand miles." In use it means: A grand and ambitious future; the kind of soaring aspiration that has no visible ceiling. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dragon.
Literally: "the Peng bird's journey of ten thousand miles."
The reading
The Peng is not a sparrow with bigger wings. It exists at a different scale entirely. Its journey does not begin with calculating whether the trip is reasonable. It begins with spreading its wings. Some ambitions are not supposed to fit inside a spreadsheet. They are supposed to make the spreadsheet irrelevant.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Zhuangzi 莊子, Xiaoyao You 逍遙遊
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Courage & Decisive Action, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dragon, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 鵬程萬里 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 鵬程萬里 (péng chéng wàn lǐ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Zhuangzi 莊子, Xiaoyao You 逍遙遊. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 鵬程萬里?
In Mandarin it is péng chéng wàn lǐ. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 鵬程萬里 aloud in Mandarin.