天tiān涯yá海hǎi角jiǎo

What does 天涯海角 (tiān yá hǎi jiǎo) mean?

天涯海角 (tiān yá hǎi jiǎo) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "the edge of the sky and the corner of the sea." In use it means: The farthest corners of the earth; used to describe great distance or the willingness to go anywhere. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.

Literally: "the edge of the sky and the corner of the sea."

The reading

There is a rock on Hainan Island where these four characters are carved, and tourists photograph it as though they have reached the end of the world. But the real meaning is not geography. It is loyalty: I will follow you to the edge of the sky and the corner of the sea. Distance becomes small when the reason to cross it is large enough.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie狗 Year of the Dog

Source Common literary phrase; appears in Tang and Song poetry

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 Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.