彭祖 (Péngzǔ): Peng Zu, legendary Daoist figur…

Meanings

1 Peng Zu, legendary Daoist figure said to have lived 800 years

Characters

彭

péng

(surname; place name Pengcheng)

祖

zǔ

ancestor, forebear

Examples

彭祖是中国传说中的长寿之神。

Péngzǔ shì Zhōngguó chuánshuō zhōng de chángshòu zhī shén.

Peng Zu is the god of longevity in Chinese legend.

他身体真好，简直像彭祖一样。

Tā shēntǐ zhēn hǎo, jiǎnzhí xiàng Péngzǔ yīyàng.

His health is so good — practically like Peng Zu.

Tips

culture

彭祖 is the patron of longevity (长寿) in Chinese culture. His full name is 篯铿 (Jiān Kēng); 'Peng' comes from his fief Pengcheng (彭城, modern Xuzhou). He's said to have outlived eight wives and 49 sons over 800 years, making him a Chinese counterpart to Methuselah.

history

Confucius admired him in 《论语》: 述而不作，信而好古，窃比于我老彭 — 'I transmit but do not create… privately I compare myself to old Peng.'