Chinese idiom · 成语
沧海桑田
Meaning
Seas turn to mulberry fields; vast changes over time.
Character by character
Origin and story
LegendThe legend is recorded in Shenxian Zhuan (神仙傳), attributed to Ge Hong, and preserved in a quotation in Chuxue Ji (初學記), volume 6. The immortal Magu tells Wang Fangping that since they began meeting, she has seen the Eastern Sea become mulberry fields three times. On her recent visit to Penglai, the water seemed only about half as deep as before; she wonders whether it will become land again. Wang responds with an image of dust rising where the sea has been.
The exchange uses an immortal's enormous timescale to imagine astonishing transformation. It is a legend, not a dated geological observation. The later idiom describes sweeping changes in places, circumstances, or human affairs.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
看着老家的新旧照片，我不禁感叹沧海桑田。
Looking at old and new photographs of my hometown, I could not help marveling at how much had changed.
Literary and often reflective; suited to large changes rather than tiny alterations.