Chinese idiom · 成语
一马平川
Meaning
A broad, level plain across which a horse could gallop; wide, unobstructed terrain.
Character by character
Origin and story
descriptive expressionThis is a landscape image: a stretch of country so broad and level that a horse could gallop across it. The phrase does not require a story about a particular rider. Han Dian records an exact use in Liang Bin's novel Bo Huo Ji, contrasting an open plain suitable for riding with mountainous terrain suitable for leaping and climbing. That is evidence of literary usage, not proof that the novelist coined it. The important feature is the ground's expansiveness and lack of obstacles. Figurative extensions are possible, but its central meaning remains a wide, flat expanse of land.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
出了山口，眼前一马平川，远处的村庄清清楚楚。
Beyond the mountain pass lies a broad, flat plain, with the distant villages clearly visible.
Primarily describes broad, flat terrain rather than promising that a project will be easy.