Chinese idiom · 成语
海枯石烂
Meaning
Seas dry, stones crumble; eternal commitment.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary imageThe drying sea and crumbling stone are poetic images of an almost inconceivable span of time. Earlier Tang poems use the components separately: Du Xunhe contrasts a sea that might eventually reveal its bottom with the difficulty of knowing a person's heart, while Du Mu invokes crumbling stone and changed landscapes. Yuan Haowen's lyrics use the combined expression in connection with lasting feeling.
This is not one documented story about lovers witnessing a vanished sea. The idiom imagines extreme natural transformation to express what would endure beyond it. It is often used in vows of love or steadfast commitment, though it can also emphasize very long duration.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
婚礼上，他说即使海枯石烂，也会珍惜这段感情。
At the wedding, he promised to treasure their love even if the seas dried up and the rocks crumbled.
A highly romantic or emphatic pledge, not everyday literal description.