Idiom Explanation:
The sea becomes farmland and the farmland becomes the sea. It is a metaphor for the great changes in world affairs.
Pronunciation:
沧海桑田
cāng hǎi sāng tián
Origin:
东晋·葛洪《神仙传·麻姑》：“麻姑自说云：‘接侍以来，已见东海三为桑田。向到蓬莱，水又浅于往者，会时略半也，岂将复为陵陆乎？’方平笑曰：‘圣人皆言，东海行复扬尘也。’”
Story:
Once upon a time there were two immortals, one was called Wang Yuan and the other was called Ma Gu. Once, they met to drink at Cai Jing’s house. On the appointed day, Wang Yuan, surrounded by a group of drummers and attendants riding on a qilin, sat on a car pulled by five dragons and went to Cai Jing’s house. But he was seen wearing a hat for a long journey, hanging a colorful ribbon, and wearing an arrow bag in the shape of a tiger’s head, looking majestic.
After Wang Yuan and his party landed in the courtyard of Cai Jing’s house, those people who clustered around him all disappeared for a while. Then, Wang Yuan and the members of the Cai family greeted each other, and then sat alone waiting for the arrival of the mahjong. Wang Yuan waited for a long time but did not see Ma Gu arrive, so he waved his hand into the air and instructed the messenger to invite her. No one in Cai Jing’s family knew which fairy in the sky Ma Gu was, so they waited with baited breath. After a while, the messenger reported to Wang Yuan in the air, “I was ordered to pay my respects to you, and she said she had not seen you for more than 500 years. At this moment, she is ordered to inspect Penglai Immortal Island, wait for a moment, then she will come to meet you.”
Wang Yuan nodded slightly and waited patiently. Not long after, Ma Gu landed down from the air. Her entourage was only half as large as Wang Yuan’s. Only then did the people of Cai Jing’s family see that Ma Gu looked like a beautiful girl of 18 or 19 years old on earth. She had waist-length hair, and her clothes were made of some kind of material, embroidered with beautiful flowers and dazzling. After Ma Gu and Wang Yuan saluted each other, Wang Yuan ordered the banquet to begin. The utensils on the banquet were all made of gold and jade, precious and delicate; the dishes served inside were mostly exotic flowers and fruits, with great fragrance. All these were unprecedented for the people of Cai Jing’s family.
During the meal, Ma Gu said to Wang Yuan, “Since I received the Tao and accepted the Mandate of Heaven, I have seen the East Sea turn into a mulberry field three times with my own eyes. Just now, when I went to Penglai, I saw that the sea was half as shallow as the previous period, is it going to turn into land again?” Wang Yuan sighed and said, “Yes, the saints have said that the waters of the sea are falling. Soon, dust will rise there again.”
When the feast was over, Wang Yuan and Ma Gu each beckoned their chariots and drove away, ascending to heaven.
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- 白云苍狗
