一代天骄
yī dài tiān jiāo
the hero of an age; an outstanding figure of his time
Character by character
一yī
one
one
代dài
generation
generation
天tiān
heaven’s
heaven’s
骄jiāo
darling
darling
Example
他十九岁就拿了世界冠军，被媒体称为“一代天骄”。
He was world champion at nineteen, and the press called him the hero of his generation.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
The 汉书 calls the Xiongnu 天之骄子, “Heaven’s proud sons”; 毛泽东’s poem 沁园春·雪 (1936) gave 一代天骄 to 成吉思汗. Now said of any towering figure, in sport as well as history.
Learn this in Lesson 95 · HSK 6–7: 元朝：马背上的帝国 (The Yuan: an empire on horseback)
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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