鹏程万里 – Peng Cheng Wan Li – A Bright Future

Chengyu

鹏程万里 – pēng chéng wàn lǐ
鵬程萬里 (traditional characters)

Chinese Character Break Down

鹏 – something like a roc
程 – journey
万 – ten thousand
里 – Li (a Chinese mile, about 500m / 1640 feet)

鹏程万里: A roc’s journey of ten thousand miles.

Idiom Meaning

This Chengyu describes a bright future, or wishing someone success in his or her endeavour.

Chengyu Examples

在新的一年里，每一个人都希望自己能鹏程万里。
zài xīnde yīnián lǐ, měiyígèrén dōu xīwàng zìjǐ néng péngchéngwànlǐ.
Everyone hopes to be successful in the new year.

祝你事业鹏程万里。
zhù nǐ shìyè péngchéngwànlǐ.
I wish you success in your endeavours!

Chengyu Story and Background

The Chinese classic of Zhuangzi (庄子) tells the following story:

Once upon a time, a gigantic fish named Kun lived in the Northern Sea. No one knew how large it actually was. This fish could turn into a gigantic bird called Peng (usually translated as roc), who was thousands of kilometers in length. When the bird spread its wings, it looked like huge clouds in the sky. It could, in one stretch, fly from the Northern Sea to the Southern Sea on the other side of the globe and soaring up to 90000 li in the heaven.

The bird can easily fly over a long distance without stop. Now people use this Chengyu idiom to wish others a long career or a bright future.