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天馬行空
This poetic Chinese idiom originates from a famous story in Chinese mythology about the legendary “heavenly horse”. This mythical creature was believed to possess extraordinary abilities and could soar across the sky. It was said to be the steed of the ruler of the universe.
The story goes that a man named Zhang Qian was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions (present-day Central Asia) during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE).
During his journey, Zhang Qian encountered the mythical heavenly horse and decided to present the horse to his emperor upon his return. The “heavenly horse” was thus mentioned in a Han dynasty poem and became a symbol of aspiration and inspiration in Chinese culture.
However, the idiom “天馬行空” can be used in a positive or negative context. As a compliment, you can invoke the idiom to describe someone’s unbridled, imaginative creativity. The flip side of that is to warn someone from being overly idealistic and impractical.
