直挂云帆济沧海

直掛雲帆濟滄海

zhíguàyúnfānjìcānghǎi

phrase

Meanings

1 hoist the cloud-sail straight and cross the vast ocean — pursue one's ambition boldly toward a grand goal
2 literally: hang the cloud-sail straight up, cross the blue-green sea

Characters

Examples

毕业在即，愿同学们直挂云帆济沧海。

Bìyè zài jí, yuàn tóngxué men zhí guà yún fān jì cāng hǎi.

Graduation approaches — may classmates hoist their sails and cross the vast ocean of their futures.

有了这笔投资，创业者终于可以直挂云帆济沧海。

Yǒu le zhè bǐ tóuzī, chuàngyèzhě zhōngyú kěyǐ zhí guà yún fān jì cāng hǎi.

With this investment, the founder can finally set full sail for his ambitions.

Tips

history

Final line of Li Bai's (李白) Tang poem 《行路难·其一》 (Hardships of the Road, I). After cataloguing frustrations and dead-ends, Li Bai ends on a defiant upswing: 长风破浪会有时，直挂云帆济沧海 — 'A time of riding wind and breaking waves will surely come; I will hoist my cloud-sail straight and cross the vast ocean.' A classic image of reclaimed confidence after setback.

usage

Beloved in graduation speeches, pep talks, and New Year articles. Pairs naturally with 长风破浪 (riding wind and breaking waves), which is in the preceding line.

Stroke Order

直 zhí

挂 guà

云 yún

帆 fān

济 jì

沧 cāng

海 hǎi