Tā cóngxiǎo bèi dàngzuò zhǎngshàng-míngzhū chǒng'ài zhe zhǎngdà.
He grew up cherished like a pearl in the palm from childhood.
Tips
history
From Fu Xuan's Jin-dynasty poem 《短歌行》: '昔君视我，如掌中珠，何意一朝，弃我沟渠' - 'once you saw me as a pearl in the palm, yet one morning you cast me into the ditch.' The original was a lament of betrayed love; it later settled into the modern sense of a beloved daughter.
culture
Default reading is 'beloved daughter' - the classic image is a father holding up his baby girl. It can apply to sons or grandchildren too, but daughter is the prototype.
