乘风破浪

Pronunciation: chéng fēng pò làng Literal meaning: Ride wind break waves

Origin & Usage

The Book of Song records Zong Que's uncle asking the boy what he wanted from life, and the answer: I wish to ride the long wind (乘风) and break (破) ten thousand li of waves (浪). He was a child at the time, and he grew up to be one of the dynasty's leading generals. Li Bai later took the image up in a line quoted at least as often — 长风破浪会有时，直挂云帆济沧海, there will come a time to ride the long wind and break the waves, and I shall set my cloud-white sail straight across the sea — which is why the phrase is frequently attributed to him instead.

Examples

English: "The startup boldly expanded during economic turbulence while competitors retreated"

Chinese: 当竞争对手退缩时，这家初创公司在经济动荡期间大胆扩张