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扶摇直上九万里

扶搖直上九萬里
fúyáo zhí shàng jiǔ wàn lǐ
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 to ride the whirlwind straight up ninety thousand li
  2. 2 to soar skyward without limit
  3. 3 (lit.) riding the whirlwind, straight up ninety thousand li

Examples

他自创业以来，公司扶摇直上九万里，估值翻了十倍。
Tā zì chuàngyè yǐlái, gōngsī fúyáozhíshàngjiǔwànlǐ, gūzhí fān le shíbèi.
Since founding it, his company has soared into the stratosphere — valuation tenfold.
年轻人就要有扶摇直上九万里的志气。
Niánqīngrén jiùyào yǒu fúyáozhíshàngjiǔwànlǐ de zhìqì.
Young people should have the ambition to ride the whirlwind ninety thousand li.

Tips

history
From Li Bai's (李白) Tang-dynasty 《上李邕》 (To Li Yong), paraphrasing the Peng bird fable of 《庄子·逍遥游》 (Zhuangzi: Free and Easy Wandering). Full couplet: 『大鹏一日同风起，扶摇直上九万里』— 'one day the great Peng rises with the wind, riding the whirlwind straight up ninety thousand li.' Zhuangzi's original describes the Peng's flight as 『抟扶摇而上者九万里』.
usage
扶摇 here is a whirlwind / spiraling updraft — not 'support and shake.' The shorter idiom 扶摇直上 is more common in everyday speech for rapid promotion or soaring prices.

Stroke Order

扶 fú
摇 yáo
直 zhí
上 shàng
九 jiǔ
万 wàn
里 lǐ