Definition
祖坟 refers to the graves or burial site of one's ancestors, a concept with deep cultural significance in Chinese tradition. It's not just a physical grave — it represents family lineage, filial piety, and is often associated with feng shui beliefs about ancestral blessings affecting descendants' fortunes. The word is typically used in contexts of family heritage, respect for ancestors, and sometimes in idioms like 祖坟冒青烟 (literally 'ancestral grave emits green smoke', meaning incredible luck).
p.w.
ancestral gravefamily burial site
Examples
- ,祖坟。Měi nián Qīngmíng Jié, wǒmen quán jiā dōu huì qù sǎo zǔ fén.Every year at Qingming Festival, our whole family goes to sweep the ancestral graves.
- 祖坟,。Tāmen jiā zǔ fén de fēngshuǐ hěn hǎo, hòudài dōu hěn xīngwàng.The feng shui of their ancestral graves is very good, so their descendants are all prosperous.
- ,祖坟。Tā kǎo shàng míngpái dàxué, qīnqi dōu shuō tā jiā zǔ fén mào qīng yān le.He got into a prestigious university, and relatives all said his ancestral grave was emitting green smoke (i.e., incredible luck).
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