沧海桑田

滄海桑田
cānghǎi-sāngtián
idiom #51,663

Meanings

  1. 1 the blue sea turned into mulberry fields
  2. 2 vast changes in the world over time
  3. 3 the vicissitudes of life and history

Examples

HSK 6
Jǐshí nián bújiàn, jiāxiāng yǐ shì cānghǎi-sāngtián.
After decades away, my hometown has changed beyond recognition.
HSK 7-9
Jīnglì le cānghǎi-sāngtián de biànqiān, zhè zuò gǔchéng yīrán yìlì.
Through all the vast changes of history, this ancient city still stands.
HSK 7-9
Shíguāng fēishì, rénshìjiān de cānghǎi-sāngtián lìngrén gǎnkǎi.
Time flies, and the dramatic changes of the human world fill one with emotion.

Tips

history
From Ge Hong's 《神仙传·麻姑》 (Eastern Jin): the immortal Magu tells of having seen the Eastern Sea turn to mulberry fields three times - a literal cosmic timescale. The image stuck as shorthand for epochal change.
register
Literary and reflective. Use for sweeping change over decades or centuries - historical, geographic, or emotional. Overkill for last week's office reorg.

Stroke Order

cāng
hǎi
sāng
tián