蟾宫折桂
chán gōng zhé guì
to pass the imperial examination; (today) to come top in an exam or contest
Character by character
蟾chán
toad
toad
宫gōng
palace
palace
折zhé
break off
break off
桂guì
osmanthus
osmanthus
Example
高考前，亲戚们纷纷发来祝福：“祝你蟾宫折桂，金榜题名！”
Before the gaokao the relatives all sent their good wishes: “May you pluck the osmanthus from the moon and see your name on the golden list!”
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
蟾宫 is the moon, home of a toad in legend, and an osmanthus tree grows there. 郤诜 of the Jin dynasty likened his top result to 桂林之一枝, “one branch of the osmanthus forest”, and the two images merged. Now a formal good wish before exams, often paired with 金榜题名 (lesson 1-7).
Learn this in Lesson 169 · HSK 7–9: 市花与市树 (City flowers and city trees)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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