天下脊

tiānxiàjǐ

idiom

Meanings

1 the backbone of the realm
2 a commanding mountain range towering over the land

Characters

Examples

古人称北方群山为天下脊，气势雄伟。

Gǔrén chēng běifāng qúnshān wéi tiānxiàjǐ, qìshì xióngwěi.

The ancients called the northern mountains the 'backbone of the realm' for their commanding grandeur.

登上太行山，才感受到什么叫天下脊。

Dēngshàng Tàihángshān, cái gǎnshòu dào shénme jiào tiānxiàjǐ.

Only on climbing the Taihang Mountains do you truly feel what 'backbone of the realm' means.

Tips

culture

A literary epithet applied to China's great northern ranges — the Taihang, the spine of the North China Plain. The metaphor treats the country as a body and the mountains as its spine.

Stroke Order

天 tiān

下 xià

脊 jǐ