小天 (xiǎotiān): (Tang) alternate name for the Vice Minister of Personnel (吏部侍郎)

Meanings

1 (Tang) alternate name for the Vice Minister of Personnel (吏部侍郎)
2 (Daoist) a subsidiary grotto-heaven (a lesser 洞天)
3 (colloquial) 'little Tian' (affectionate nickname for someone surnamed Tian or with 天 in the name)

Characters

小

Examples

唐代称吏部侍郎为小天。

Tángdài chēng lìbù shìláng wéi xiǎotiān.

In the Tang dynasty, the Vice Minister of Personnel was called 'xiǎotiān'.

小天，帮我拿一下那本书。

Xiǎotiān, bāng wǒ ná yíxià nà běn shū.

Xiao Tian, grab that book for me.

Tips

history

In Tang bureaucracy, the Ministry of Personnel (吏部) was nicknamed 天官 ('Heaven Office'), so its head was 大天 and his deputy 小天. Now archaic, but common in historical dramas.